I didn't shave my armpits or legs for a month and here's what happened

Nothing, absolutely nothing happened.

JUICY: CANCELLED

Kevin Grimm has just informed me that Juicy this Saturday at Circus has been officially cancelled. It's not that the bar is unable to host the event, but that the owners are afraid that we will get too crazy and destroy what they have done to amp up the venue. Regardless, there is no reason to go to Circus this Saturday.

What they don't understand is that if they had gone about closing and firing everybody at circus the right way, they would have had no need to fear this at all. If it had been announced in a timely and respectful manner the last Thump and the last Juicy would have been a pleasant night to remember. If we had known about it in advance, we could have known to enjoy the last of our time there, and given it a bittersweet goodbye.

The fact is, they have had these plans in line since January. They could have easily let us know that February was the last month we would have to enjoy Circus. Personally, I think they went about it in a horrifying insincere and foolish manner. Except for My Best Friends Party events, and other producers that I know and want to support, I highly doubt I will be venturing into Circus OR Skully's again. Its just bad business.

I am really sad that I won't be able to share any more good times at Circus with you this saturday. And that there will be no more Juicy's to enjoy. However, tonight is FREQ at the shrunken head. Lets all go and enjoy, and see each other there! Don't forget that our girl Lisa Clapp will be there to pour us all drinks and wash the sorrow away with good company and good music!

Circus, My Playhouse No Longer

Intro

As many of you are aware, Circus Columbus bar is no longer. The facts are hard to dig up, and speculation abounds. But our overall feelings for our bar, our hangout, our home, is easy to see. Sunday morning bright and early, my feed was covered in mourning posts for Circus. The first one I saw, I didn't believe, then I saw the rest.

From our sweet gogo (and now classical) dancer Stephie, "Going through my newsfeed realizing that Circus Columbus Bar is no longer is bringing tears to my eyes, I have spent legit the best nights of my life there, met my closest friends, its been like my home, I've never had a bar I could call my spot except this one. I am devastated. Where will THUMP be now?"

From Joey VJ Vendetta, "Circus ... It's bittersweet. Thanks for the memories & helping us build. Everything runs it's course. Time to move on. Let's evolve and innovate."

It is true, my friends. Punk Rock Karaoke, Thump, Creme de le femme, Juicy, Funkdefy, and Boys and Girls will no longer be hosted at Circus, or will no longer be. I do have it on advisement that "Damn Girl!" will still be continuing on however.  "Because it's Reds show"

But what has happened to our beloved Circus? The one thing we know for certain is why. As it was, Circus was failing. As popular Thump Wednesdays were, and as great as the Creme De Le Femme burlesque nights were getting, it still wasn't enough to keep the bar afloat. 

The "who" and the "when" is a different story however. It is a fact that a man, Mike Moffo is partially behind the changes. If you have heard that Circus is turning into a gay bar, this guy is the front-man for it. Supposedly very popular in the GLBT scene Mike was either approached by Skully, or did the approaching himself sometime in January.

Mike himself said that he has been hired be skully as a bar manager, that he was interviewed and selected. I was also told by a source that worked with him prior that he said he went to Skully and offered to pay the bill to convert the bar. It does seem true though that Skully wanted a gay bar, and Red wanted a restaurant. 

Regardless of how it happened, around 60k is being dumped into a failing circus to reinvent it, and Mike is the new manager. 

How things have progressed is also cause for news. The fact that the bar was changing and hiring all new staff was first exposed by an ad posted on quorum online magazine. Something that spread quickly across facebook, and was the first that our bar staff Lisa and TJ heard of them losing their jobs. 

As Lisa says on her feed, "I'm sad to go and hurt and betrayed that it happened the way it did, but I'm eternally grateful to have been able to share my home with all of you wonderful people these past four years. I hope to see you on my final nights behind the bar at Circus this Wednesday and Saturday. " 

The outrage from Circus patrons is clear, but so is the overwhelming support for our bar staff and the producers that hosted shows at Circus.

The New Stuff / Some Speculation

This new revamp will be called Circus Community Gathering Place, and will open it's doors Friday, March 14th for a Drag show. It is not necessarily a gay bar, more of a gay staffed restaurant. It will be opening for lunch every day having a food service until 11pm. It will close at 2:30 as it has always done. The staff has already been pre-selected and hired, people who knew they had jobs, even though Lisa and TJ didn't know know they did not have jobs. The entire new staff was under a contractual gag agreement not to spill the beans on the changes, they could not have told us the plans without losing their new jobs. 

But why was their that agreement in the first place? Was it Skully, Red, or Mike Moffo who decided that this was a good idea? Mike denies having any part to play in that, but if you're the man hired to fix a broken place, wouldn't you have some say over this? Regardless, Skully is still the owner, and he would have had the final say. Are they purposefully trying to provoke all of their patrons not to come again and visit the new Circus? Or do they think that we don't care about the people who have built up our scene?

What's Happening Now

And they certainly are stepping on toes. Creme de le Femme is a popular burlesque show held once monthly at circus, run by Mike Folker from Secret Song Records. Even though Mike Moffo wanted the dancers, he didn't want to support the producer. Going under the radar, he approached  Sex Kittens Purrlesque directly. Obviously unaware of how loyal the people and performers of Columbus are, he proposed hiring them, rather than the show itself. They will not be performing at Circus any longer. 

They did however, have enough warning to get a game plan together. Mike Folker also says, "Secret Song is excited for our friends that are staying on at Circus and for all the big changes going on there.  As much as we hate to lose our home base it couldn't have happened at a better time for us...We're expanding our booking into Porter's Pub on North High Street and Scarlet and Grey Cafe this Summer. Plus there are a few more developments that I can't officially announce yet... Our signature "Creme de la Femme" burlesque event is moving to Porter's pub... the plan is to keep it on the 4th weekend of the month. Open Mic Sunday performers are being offered slots on our "Unplugged on High Street" Acoustic Showcase at Porter's as well.  Our March 14th Rock N Roll MEGASHOW is moving to King Avenue 5 in Grandview. For the latest on all or our events you can go to Secret Song Records here on facebook and click on events.  We've got a very busy spring and summer in store. "

It also seems as though Juicy hosted by Kevin Grimm are off the books and will not be relocated. Kevin says, "Sorry guys and gals. Look like next Saturday's Juicy is gonna wind things up. ...and thank you all for 5+ years of awesome support. Let's do this - ONE. MORE. TIME."
And I support this 100%. Everybody should be there for Circus' last hurrah. This Saturday 2/8 come to Circus early for a majorly extended line-up of DJ's and to tell our bar goodbye. Nevermind, its been cancelled. It's even possibly the last time a DJ will be playing there, so we are having ALL the DJ's!

Thump this Wednesday is officially cancelled. And our favorites, My Best Friends Party, have not had time yet to find it's new home. I have spoken to producer Nick Reed and he has promised to keep me informed, and in turn, I promise to keep you informed. Speculation has Kobo, Scarlet and Gray, and Ace of Cups as possible contenders for Thump, but we will have to wait and see where they take us. As my friend Jamie says in support of MBFP, "You name the place and Cbus will fill it for you!!" 

And a new place will be found, no doubt about that! Nick Reed says, 

"Thump will undoubtedly find a new home, we have already received several offers and we are weighing our options. While its sad to see the end of circus for our event its ok, we will find a new spot hopefully one with better sound, lights, staff and enthusiasm. This will be a time for growth. There are plenty of bars that would love to have the 100-200 people we bring out every week for our free event."

Now, this new Circus' Mike Moffo does have our bartenders Lisa's support, although she will not be working there anymore. "The [new] GM is a super cool dude with really great ideas, drive, and business sense. I wish them the best of luck.  It's time for me to do what they did:  calmly move on and do what's best for me." Lisa is also not taking a job offer for Skully's Music Diner. 

We can however support Lisa this Thursday at FREQ! She will be at the Shrunken Head pouring up drinks for their electronic night! As it is such a transitional period for our girl, and she's going about it with such grace, come out and show her you love her and enjoy some awesome music!  

Actually, nobody can say it better than Stephie,

"SO THERE IS NO THUMP THIS WEEK, LET'S GET FREQ-Y INSTEAD!! AND WE ALL NEED TO COME OUT AND SEE OUR FAVORITE BARTENDER Lisa Clapp WHO WILL BE POURINGS DRINKS, LET'S SHOW HER LOVE"

And our very own local live painter/DJ Blake Bower, is also behind taking this change and making the best of it, I am vary sad to announce to all my fans that I will no longer be doing live performances at Circus I hope everyone stays with us through the duration of this change of scenery because if you have any LOVE for what I'm doing with my artistic movement in Columbus we about to BLOW this shit up!

As for our other beloved bartender TJ, I have no news yet, but hopefully Mike Moffo will follow through on his promise to help him find a new position.

There is also some discussion for relocating and continuing the show Funkdefy.

Last Words

Circus closing down so unexpectedly is breaking my heart, it was my home. It was many peoples homes, and we are all family. Now comes a trial to keep our family and our scene together, and relocate to a new and better venue. The important thing is to stay together and to stay strong! As long as we have our people, our DJ's, our producers, and other artists, as long as a place is big enough it will be our new home. I will be updating every time we learn something new, and following MBFP and Secret Song Records success as we delve into this new territory.

A very good wednesday night (Kill the Noise and Skullys)

The Kill the Noise show rocked! This Wednesday night had the type of energy usually reserved for big Saturday night shows. Starting early in the night the crowd was dancing, and it kept going all night long.

My night started at the door where I was waiting for Tom to retrieve my pre-sale tickets, but one lovely specimen of a man offered me his extra ticket! While I was in line, a girl complemented me on the necklace I was wearing. It isn't one I wear often and I offered it to her. She told me a story about how last week she went to a concert and gave a heart ring away to a woman. Tonight, for this girl, the universe came full circle. And, despite my protests she insisted on giving me a silver heart bracelet that matched the necklace she was wearing. So somewhere on this planet earth, I will always share an accessory ensemble with a nice raver girl.

So my night was going pretty good as I stepped into the club. Nick and Chad (Attak and Carma) were playing an electro set (unusual for the two of them) but already people were loving it. High energy and dancing so early in the night is usually unheard of, so I knew it would be excellent.

After some dancing, mingling, and meeting new people, Brillz set came on. Another high energy set full of trap. Usually a genre that I dislike, but tonight it was going so strong I couldn't help but love it.

The whole time VJ Vendetta was throwing up some striking visuals on a huge projector screen that ran from the ceiling to the stage floor.

After Brillz, Style of Eye hopped on stage. And again, this night could do no wrong. The music could do no wrong, the dancing just would not stop and the energy was excellent.

And of course, the main act- Kill the Noise. This set started out with a lot of mainstream tracks. I can't say I was disappointed, because in this age of electronic music, hearing songs that you know can be a rare occurrence. He got old school with some Benny Benassi. After getting the crowd pumped up with popular tracts though, he dropped some drum and bass and even a five finger death punch remix! A true feat of Dj'ing and a very fun set! Sometimes I think that DJ's forget that they are playing a PARTY. Definitely not a problem for Kill the Noise with his vibrant set list and friendly demeanor!

It was a party that I am very glad I didn't miss. There were glovers, dancers, visuals, and great music. I even saw somebody get glimmered. I also learned a cool summer trick that I will post in the tips section later. I have pics coming from one of the photographers so check back soon!

A big shout out to all the DJ's, Vendetta, and My Best Friends Party and Disco Donny Presents for throwing such an amazingly fun show with such a great line up! MBFP throws electronic shows EVERY Wednesday at Circus, so be sure to check it out.