Squidling Brothers Circus Sideshow

The post-modern circus sideshow is alive and well. If you are looking for a night out that isn't the usual dinner and a movie date, keep your eyes peeled for the Squidling Brothers Circus Sideshow. This compact troupe of performers offers a lot of variety with their broad range of skills and talents.

Based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this five-person show offers up clowns, fire breathing, strong-man acts and much more that you might be familiar with from a conventional sideshow. But overlying all of that is a layer of what has to undeniably be called "freaky."

Jelly Boy the Clown is the group's ringmaster and show MC, but along with those hats he also wears a few others. Want to watch a bit of sword-swallowing and fire breathing? He does that too. How about seeing someone hypnotize a rubber chicken? That one is new to me.

Betty Blommerz is the lady of the group and she's also got a series of interesting acts for your viewing pleasure. There's more conventional performances such as belly dancing and trapeze artist. And she too can swallow swords and breathe fire. Ready for her human pin cushion act? You'll have to see that one to believe it.

Squidling Brothers boasts the World's Strangest Strong Man with Baron von Geiger. Instead of just lifting heavy weights conventionally, this strong man uses a variety of body parts instead of just his hands. See him swing objects from fish hooks attached to his eyelids. Or dangle 100 lb. from his earlobes. Sort of makes you rethink those earrings you thought were too heavy, doesn't it?

The Illustrated Penguin harkens back to the day of born freaks. He was born with shortened arms and legs due to a genetic condition, so that he hands come right off his shoulders and his feet come off the bottom of his hips. Add to that a collection of extensive tattooing, and his routine as the Human Blockhead. He can put nails, ice picks, drill bits and more up his nose without injury. But what will really rivet your attention is his straightjacket escape, performed while hanging upside down.

The other brother in Squidling Brothers is Mattersz Squidling, the Impenetrable Music Man. He performs a collection of dangerous acts: walking on a ladder of machetes and across broken glass, and lying on a bed of nails. And he does all of this without getting any sort of cuts or wounds. Needless to say, do NOT try this yourself at home.

Learn more or find a performance at a town near you at the Squidling Brothers Circus Sideshow website.