Hop on the circus wagon

HUMANWINE/Reverend Glasseye @ Dragon's Den, New Orleans

HUMANWINE is not for everyone. Standing on a balcony of a tiny club built above a coffee shop, surrounded by people with dreadlocks and piercings dressed like thieves and vagabonds, I knew I was going to be in for an interesting show. HUMANWINE is a musical performance gang from Boston (though none of them are actually from Boston) who major in circus waltzes and storytelling. Armed with a bowed stand-up bass and Holly's ridiculously soothing but powerful pipes (thing Evanescence but sweeter and with a wider range) they stomp through songs about anarchist couples with drug problems and brainwashing governments. These Dresden dolls contemporaries know how to make a crowd grunt like an ogre and sway to a drinking song beat, and have definitely made a dedicated following.

About five minutes after their set HUMANWINE was “resurrected” as Reverend Glasseye, another quintet with the lead singer and pianist switching places. New singer Adam Glasseye adds a Boston Irish feel to the triple beat (whether or not he is Boston Irish I’m not sure), and makes the music a bit easier to listen to with a familiar folk rock guitar fronting the sideshow madness. Nonetheless they attract the sideshow crowd, and their set wasn’t complete without a fire-dart performance on the street outside the club.

Though performance art could definitely turn a lot of people off, once both bands got playing their sounds were surprisingly appealing. Not to say that circus music isn’t awesome, but let’s face it, not everyone is going to want to listen to anachronistic folk-metal. But both Holly’s operatic grace and Glasseye’s gravelly roar focus the sound, so all you have to do is sway and stomp with the rest of the crowd. Their looks may frighten, but if you want to it’s not hard at all to get into either band.