Let the wild rumpus begin
Solstice Circus wants to know if your inner child can play
Melissa Martin

It’s the longest night of the year, but when The Absent Sound throws a party, there’s no need for your inner child to be afraid of the dark.

Following in the footsteps of the progressive act’s increasingly popular, carnival-styled events, the local duo and cohorts The Antigravity Project are once again donning the costumes and breaking out the surrealistic revelry for the Solstice Celebration Circus on (when else?) the December 21 winter solstice.

Conceived by Absent Sound guitarists Rob Menard and Dave Forte while working at a children’s camp in Saskatchewan, the duo’s festivities have been well-received by an audience that has taken the interactive events to heart.

“You know how there are ‘sit and watch’ shows? We wanted to have more going on, to have the crowd included,” says Menard, on a break from creating posters for the event with a team of organizers. “The kids’ energy transposed into us.”

At previous circuses the scene has become a model of individualistic surrealism. Attendees are encouraged to dress up and the trend is catching on. Menard attests to seeing clowns, drag queens and pink rabbits... in his words, “anything weird.”

The bands themselves will be sporting costumes from Ragpickers Anti-fashion Emporium; last time around, they did a painter theme and this time they’re promising to go more global.

But as if wandering through a Pyramid Cabaret stocked with giant pink bunny rabbits wasn’t surreal enough, the show is bringing even more interaction; it is a carnival, after all.

Reviving the most beloved games of childhood, the evening will feature a rousing game of musical chairs, a limbo pole, pinatas and a large “sound art wall” for use at the show’s closing percussion jam.

“We want everyone to pick up anything there is in terms of percussion... cans, sticks, anything,” says Menard. “The wall will be full of things to hit.”

In addition to the interactive games, the evening will also feature music from sitar and tabla outfit PB & J, a piece by performance artist Greg Hanec, as well as sets by The Absent Sound and The Antigravity Project. Many other performers are still in the works.

To allay the guilt of letting your inner seven-year-old run free, there will be collections for toy and food hampers — the proceeds of which will be donated to several local charities. So the festivities are about benefiting the community and working out the tensions of the audience.

“I think it’s good to get a break from working all the time,” says Menard. “Everyone knows everyone is so stressed out, so it’s good to have one night every couple of months to let go and be a wild kid.”

The Solstice Celebration Circus goes down at the Pyramid Cabaret on Sunday, Dec. 21. Tickets are $5 with costume, $7 without.

For more info see our What’s Up entertainment listings.