Mr. Dark's Pandemonium at the Double Down - Friday December 19, 2025

 

After medical issues sidelined the previously scheduled Mr. Dark's debut, tonight's show was highly anticipated and it did not fail to impress the packed Double Down on a Friday before Xmas - traditionally a slow time for the club.

Part vaudeville, part circus side show, part travelin' snake-oil tent revival, Mr. Dark's Pandemonium is a combination of music (natch), burlesque, DJ's and various other (revolvin', I assume) acts to ensure a full night of entertainment.

A devilish MC opens the eve, but the MC chores are then given over to a lovely young lady who introduces the band, consisting of member of the Psyatics, Water Landing, the Mapes and more, as they provide a Tom Waits-ian (for lack of a better adjective) backing for the night. Band leader/conceptualist Jack (Psyatics/Unwieldies) plays guitar and violin (sometimes in the same song), with Water Landing's Eric on guitar, Ron on drums and Jules on vocals, along with the Mapes Joe on bass/tuba/trombone, Scott on keys and guitar and Allie on vocals. Everyone looked stylish - from suits to marching band outfits to mad scientists to gypsies to 19th century laborers (not sure how else to describe it) - to ensure that the show was visual as well as musical. Speaking of visual, there were also backdrops, a custom built stage, special lighting and more! They really went all out for the show.

Throughout the night the band would play short-ish sets featuring numbers like "House of the Rising Sun", "Bang Bang" , "Down in the Hole", "Teenage Werewolf", "Never Gonna Die", Water Landing's popular (and fitting) "Devils" (with violin and trombone giving it extra texture) and plenty more. Eric took most of the lead vocals but Jules and Allie got their time in the spotlight, as well, and both have lovely voices that totally fit the style. The keys would at times provide appropriate accordion sounds and the addition of tuba and trombone highlighted several songs. 

The band intermissions included DJ sets, a number of burlesque dancers with their own unique acts (the final femme fatale dancing on bottles was particularly impressive), a mime with a piercing demonstration and even a duo who created music and sand art simultaneously!

Everything came to a conclusion with the band returning to the stage for an extended take on Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?" with none other than Jack vocalizing through a megaphone. 

This event is scheduled to take place every couple of months (next one on Friday February 20th!) so it will be interesting to see how it evolves as time goes on. A devilishly delightful debut, though!