Today, msnbc.com, has a spread about the exploding popularity of cirque noir. There are little write-ups on Teatro ZinZanni, Cirque du Soleil, and Cavalia (a touring equestrian circus), but who gets the splashy audio-and-slideshow leading slot? Seattle’s Circus Contraption, who are playing now in New York to enthusiastic reviews.

Also: The Meat Purveyors show last night was packed, great, and a little sad. If you missed it, they are playing a “second final show in Seattle” tonight at the Sunset. They will play once more in Austin (their hometown), once more in New York, and then they will be dead. Here is a eulogy from the comments on yesterday’s Arts in America post:

Regarding the Meat Purveyors…

I was once drunkenly kidnapped by the band after an insane show at the Tractor. I woke up the next morning with a world class hangover, lost, confused, and having made out with three of the four band members, in the house where they were staying. I had to call my boyfriend to figure out where I was. Eventually The Purveyors woke up, we started drinking again, and had a surreal breakfast at Hattie’s. They had been on tour for months, and Sherilyn, the bass player, kept yowling for a “trained homosexual” to fix her hair.

That weekend is one of my most treasured memories. RIP, Meat Purveyors.

Posted by Mark Mitchell - September 16, 2006 01:37 PM