Chicago has a reputation for being the best city in the world when it comes to comedy. Hilarious stand-up acts, creative sketch groups and improv legends have been making The Windy City laugh for decades, but, by this point, audiences pretty much know what to expect from the beats and rhythms of these classic performance styles. Enter Helltrap Nightmare – the one-of-a-kind horror/comedy/noise/rock variety show from the artistic mind of Sarah Sherman – which keeps fans off-balance and amused at every turn.
Sarah Sherman
The monthly showcase packs The Hideout with freaky-lovin’ fans who can’t wait to see what happens next. Sherman’s aura can be felt throughout the entire performance as she peppers gross-out visuals – e.g., an interactive video creation featuring talking white head zits – banging, distorted music and absurdly funny monologues that have the audience hanging on every word between each unique act.
On Father’s Day, Sunday, June 18 – or “traumatized daddy day,” as Sherman called it, Helltrap Nightmare welcomed a collection of the city’s best stand-up acts, comedy writers, audio/video masterminds, rag-tag drag bands and sketch artists to take The Hideout stage. Sherman, dressed in a haute couture catsuit adorned with dozens of d*cks, used silliness and shock to set a joyous tone for a night full of “absolute horror and gore” accompanied by abstract delight.
Pond Cake
Following Sherman’s pimple-popping video production, Pond Cake’s Psycho-esque violin riffs delightfully seasoned a haunting rendition of “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam” and later in the night, Jamie Brew, of ClickHole fame, used innovative technology to create a brand new – Garfunkel-heavy – Simon & Garfunkel tune. Alex Kumin, Shannon Noll, Bill Bullock, Dan Perlman and Helltrap Nightmare’s favorite sketch group, The Shrimp Boys, were also featured on the bill as were Venomenema who left a truly lasting impression with all in attendance.
Shannon Noll
Venomemena used their set time to expertly sculpt well-known pop-culture video clips into disturbing, disorienting pieces of ever-changing visual art. Their in-the-moment processing technique allowed them to feed off of the crowd’s energy to create insanity-inducing adaptations of once viral YouTube videos. A heavily distorted Keeping Up with the Kardashians segment highlighted the brain-numbing nature of reality TV to a satisfying degree.
Helltrap Nightmare is a fun, funny, gory, disturbing, uplifting, inspiring and absolutely unforgettable horror humor experience all at once. Don’t miss the next show, which is set for July 15 at The Hideout. Click here to pick-up tickets and head over to Helltrapnightmare.com to stay up-to-date with all the terrifying, hilarious fun.
Jamie Brew
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)