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The Dark Arts, Leather, & Circus in Oakland

Updated: Oct 31, 2024 11:07
The Bay's best newsletter for underground events & news

The Performer You Should Know series highlights local artists before they perform something awesome, it’s our way of supporting the creative community and helping to keep the Bay Area a strange and wonderful place.

@Drago.Nesa & @Dark.Veterano perform at Fluid 510 in Oakland. All Photography by Adrian Alonzo

A large poster of a curvy sex worker starred at us from across the bar while sipping cocktails at Feelmore Social Club, a self-described (and recently shuttered) “sex forward bar” in downtown Oakland with drinks named ‘Power Bottom’, ‘Spank That’, and ‘Pussy Punch’. The mood was light, it felt like a throwback to the 2000s, a bit like Kozy Kar Bar in San Francisco, but with less kitsch, and devoid of bridge tunnel tourists.

The conversation was full of the bar’s speculative history as a former adult video arcade. But the main event for the evening was next door at Fluid 510, a club that feels a bit like Oakland’s smaller version of DNA Lounge.

Inside was a crowd reminiscent of Death Guild crossed with the Folsom Street Fair, people were friendly and familiar with one another, it had the atmosphere of a kinky cosplay event or an intimate gathering at one of Kink.com’s Armory parties, back when those existed. Everyone was interesting to look at, and chat with, clad in different cuts of leather, metal, and masks.

We sat next to someone dressed as a leather puppy, behind a couple in full, coordinated steampunk garb, on stage was an incredible duo performing Shibari, a form of Japanese bondage using ropes, and for the experts of the art, suspension.

Performers Insignia and Dance Hall Dyke

The video I made of the performance was taken down on social media for ‘simulating sex acts’, which is a shame, because it was wonderful. Performers Insignia and Dance Hall Dyke had that rare combination of chemistry and professionalism that tied perfectly together and spun the crowd into a frenzy.

Jamie DeWolf performed poetry and emceed The Dark Leather event which was full of cabaret, circus, fire, blood, acrobatics, poetry, music, all dressed in black and dripping in fetish.

The multi-talented Alex El Veterano DJ’d, sang, and co-produced the event in a leather mask with his partner, the fire-eating, chain-swinging, aerialist legend, Drago. Together they create shows and parties as Dark Events SF, roughly once a quarter, typically in the East Bay.

This Halloween they are throwing a Vampires, Werewolves & Slayers party and circus at The Continental Club in Oakland. So meet Drago & Alex, two performers you should know…

Drago Nesa eating fire.

Artist(s): Drago Nesa, Alex El Veterano
Site: linktr.ee/darkeventssf
@Drago.Nesa @Dark.Veterano @DarkEventsSF

Medium(s): 

Drago: Aerialist performer of  Chains, Neck Hanging + formerly Iron Jaw.  Fire performer of breathing, eating  & stunts. Producer + Director of Dark Events.

Alex: Singer, music producer, audiovisual engineer, fire spinner, Dragon submissive and co-producer of Dark Events.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Drágo Nesa (@drago.nesa)

BAS: How did you first get into leather, bondage, and aerial arts, and when did you begin performing? 

Drago: I love that you linked both my interest in leather and performance in one question, because I do see them as one and the same. I suppose I’ve been performing in various ways most of my life. As a child, I was a competitive gymnast, pianist, and dancer. In college I became introduced to the art of fire spinning after attending a full moon jam on Lake Michigan. This creative way of combining acrobatics with the dangerous art of fire was fascinating to me, and opened a creative door in my mind. Both gymnastics and piano were very regimented to me, and while I enjoyed the art forms of both, I wasn’t given much freedom to explore and create which was ultimately what took me away from both arts.

Starting as a fire spinner, I was exposed to a whole world of accessible acrobatic artistry. From my fire troupe in Taiwan, I discovered aerial silks; I was immediately strong enough to climb, pull up, invert, and execute moves. Silks were only invented in 1980, and introduced to the public in the early 2000’s, so there weren’t many teachers or direct approaches to learning. I moved back to NYC in 2008 to attend grad school and I linked in with the House of Yes. At that time it was home to their aerial school, the Skybox. I was fascinated with the lifestyle of these full time artists and producers, and realized that was the direction I wanted to take my life. 

Charlie Pain Performs side show

As an aerial artist, I started learning on silks, but I fell in love with trapeze. Coming from a gymnastics background, the bar was a familiar object and I was very comfortable executing rolls, releases, and swings from all my uneven bar training. At this time I was introduced to my fire eating instructor, who taught me the first rule of fire eating – that it’s magic. This concept started to click things together in my head, and I began to build my first solo aerial performance: a fire eating trapeze act in which I performed a whole monologue while doing fire tricks with my mouth while swinging, flipping and dancing on a high flying trapeze.

Myles Higher performs.

Additionally, I began to apply my fire eating practice to the greater k*nk community of which I was a part of. I created this technique called “Promethean Healing” in which I would combine aspects of sound, smell, and touch to align people’s energy with my fire torches. I would offer this service at various events, play parties, and private gatherings. I even got written up in multiple tabloid magazines when I was practicing at an underground party in Tribeca, which led to the legend of my infamous reputation. After several years I later progressed my fire + aerial fusion acts to a fire eating rope act, and then in 2019, to body burns on aerial chains.

To me leather, bondage & the art of kink all ties together with my performance style and the art I build. As a nonbinary person, I never wanted to be a showgirl; my desire to create art centered around aspects of danger and strength, not pretty shapes and sparkles. I don’t need to “hurt” myself to be alive, but I do feel a need to challenge my physicality. And as an ex- competitive gymnast it truly takes a lot to push me to my limit. I have an interesting relationship with what people call “pain” and have sought through my life, healthy ways to explore it. People often ask me if chains hurt, and while the answer is Yes, they are brutal, I don’t perceive them as painful. My perception is that they are so fierce and fascinating that the pain I feel is secondary to the joy I feel through working with them. Aerial acrobatics in itself is a “painful” art, but only if you are stuck on the sensation you momentarily feel in your body. I feel that the limit of pain is a limitation we put on ourselves, that blocks us from exploring deeper parts of oneself. 

Bo Vixxen performs cabaret

Tell us about Noodle Factory days, the underground scene in the 90s-2000s.  

Drago: 

What I believe you are referring to is the location where Skyhigh Odditorium, my business that birthed Dark Events, our production company, began. Dark Events is an offshoot production company of Skyhigh Odditorium, which began as a venue, aerial school, and live/work space back in 2012 in the legendary Noodle Factory building. Prior to obtaining the space, it was an underground home for all sorts of artists to host shows, gatherings, galleries and events. I never got a chance to experience the era in the 90’s and early 2000’s, however the lady that ran the Noodle Factory, the late Dana Harris, at that time hired me for one of my first gigs when I first moved to the bay in 2010. When I acquired the performing arts center as part of the Noodle Factory building, the place had been already bought and remodeled by the North California Land Trust to be 11 live/work studios and a separate performing arts center. I had been living in the bay for 2 years, teaching + performing aerial at various spaces, and had already begun to develop a following. I was very inspired by what I saw at House of Yes, and that I needed to create that here in the Bay Area.

I had no rental history, so the landlords and owners truly rented the building to me because the owners supported my vision – to create a center that functioned mainly as an aerial school, training adults to become performers, while offering performances and events on the weekends. From 2012 – 2018 I ran a weekly group aerial class and open gym schedule from Monday – Friday and hosted all sorts of events on the weekends: theater shows, comedy nights, performance events, rave parties, music concerts, fashion shows… you name it, we hosted it. On top of hosting a variety of groups, I would produce in-house events to support the aerial school. 

In 2018 the building sold and Skyhigh moved to Richmond CA in a shared building with an American Ninja Warrior inspired gym ran by professional Ninja Warriors. The facility is not equipped to be a performance arts center. This pushed us to separate the production company from the school, spawning the creation of Dark Events. 

Natasya performs in the air.

What can someone expect from taking classes at Skyhigh Odditorium?

Drago: 
To meet a gaggle of Dragons and possibly be sequestered as our treasure…Just kidding! … My mission of starting Skyhigh back in 2010 was to create a space where alternative adults can safely explore their desire to learn aerial both as art & fitness. The first year is mainly conditioning for aerial strength and learning base poses. Once students progress past the basics the classes incorporate choreography training. I believe that all ages, genders, backgrounds, and body types have the capacity for learning aerial and that training looks different for each person because everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. It is important to know what those are, so that one can develop their unique movement style and artistry.

 Each class includes a warm up,  targeted aerial conditioning series, and a series of skills. We do a lot of repetition because the goal is to have students be able to practice without having to ask their coach to remind them of wraps and techniques. Our studio is heavily focused on being a community, so attendees can expect to be supported by their peers and connected to a greater group of aerialists (and dragons) 😉 

What advice can you give on eating fire safely? 

Drago: My best advice is to find an experienced professional that offers lessons. It’s important to know all the things that could go wrong in order to avoid them. Additionally, understanding the basics of fire safety in regards to fire performing is important. This isn’t a skill that should be learned off the internet. Mishaps can cause irreversible damage.

When did you first begin singing and performing? 

Alex: I began singing popular latin songs at middle school talent shows growing up in Puerto Rico in the 90’s. Later I discovered Rock music and picked up an electric guitar at 13 years old. When I was 15 years old, I formed a “Metallica Tribute Band” called After Shock with my drummer. I was the Lead Singer and Rhythm Guitarist. Everyone in the band was in their early 20’s except for me. We packed small pubs and clubs with 200+ people for around a year in Puerto Rico singing 20+ Metallica songs. Our band broke up and I tried forming other bands without success.

The next few years were tough, my parents went through a very dramatic divorce. I lost interest in music and got involved in the streets of Puerto Rico. I got involved with the criminal underground world, dropped out of college from an Electrical Engineering program, and became a father at 19. I hit rock bottom through addictions and having a very dramatic breakup with my daughter’s mother. At this point I decided to change my life, seek God’s help and joined the military to get off the streets.

 I joined the US Air Force as an Aircraft Mechanic in 2006 at age 20. In the Air Force I began my music career again in 2007 at Travis Air Force Base in California. This time I started singing Reggaeton music, performing original music throughout California under the name “Veneno”. I self released over 50 songs in underground internet music forums before Spotify and Pandora became a thing. I got very proficient at self producing using Pro Tools and Fruity Loops software at my home studio.

I served in the Air Force until 2010 and opened a music studio called Urba Records afterwards. I also started several electronica music projects. A solo bass music project and later a collaborative project with Drago called Cerebellum Projekt after we met and started dating in 2014. It was mostly instrumental, but sometimes I would do spiritual chants on the songs. We performed for the next few years throughout clubs, events and festivals including aerial acrobatic performances with Drago’s troupe “The Dragonettes”. Also with Drago I got involved in producing and working at events, especially performance based events in the technical side of the production (audio, music, visuals, etc).

I continued to produce other artists throughout the years in California and Puerto Rico, including legendary artists like Berto from Trebol Clan and huge Mexican influencer Hot Spanish. Through my collaboration with Hot Spanish I pushed my original Latin Urban music from 2017-2020 reaching over 1,000,000 views on Youtube on songs like “Guillao” and “Adicto a las Zorras” under the name “Alex El Veterano”. My fans know me as “El Veterano”. I toured with HotSpanish for 2 years throughout Mexico, pushing my Youtube and Instagram to over 100,000 subscribers and followers organically. During this time, in 2017, I also graduated from Expression College with a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Interactive Audio, which concentrates in several aspects of Audiovisual Engineering.

My Latin Urban project slowed down when my collaboration with HotSpanish stopped after he moved to Mexico, my YouTubers band broke up and the Pandemic happened. When the Pandemic started to end, Drago and I regrouped to plan our next move. Clubs and venues started to reopen. Drago got booked in many places and started including me to sing in some performances. At this point the right setting came to launch Dark Events, which I co-produce and often perform together.

Soon we will be releasing new music under a new electronic music project called Psylom, where I will be adding vocals on some tracks.

Is it difficult singing/performing in a leather hood?  What does the hood symbolize to you?
Alex:
There are some challenges to singing in a leather hood mask. For example, it can get hot, it is hard to see and also I can’t open my mouth easily because it restrains my jaw. But once I’m singing live, I forget about all of that when the adrenaline and thrill of the performance takes over. I have felt light headed while yelling some Metal lyrics though… hehe. 

Performing with a hood to me represents total anonymity. It makes it all about the performance, the singing, the emotion transmitted to the crowd and entertaining the audience. Instead of thinking about self glorification by having people know who I am, I’m deflecting popularity and focusing more on having people live a weird experience that moves them in a strange way. I want them to leave thinking about what a great and strange performance that was with that “gimp” singing while Drago is flying on the chains.

Your shows recently explore…

Alex: The beauty in the strange and bizarre.

Drago: For me, art is always about taking risks and exploring parts of ourselves that cant necessarily be expressed in daily life. As an individual, I am continually seeking to push the boundaries of what a person could think to be possible vs impossible. For example, right now I am training as a sword swallower. Our current acts combined aerial and fire eating, a rare combo that would likely seem to be impossible. 

Any artists you think people NEED to see in 2024?

Drago: US! Lol. Wow, there are so many incredible artists. I am currently fascinated by the art of sword swallowing and the boundaries being pushed in that art form. Many of my inspirations live overseas and in different parts of the world. One of our goals as a production company is to bring some of these boundary pushing artists to the bay. Other than that, the local groups we really support include, but are not limited to, Twisted Windows, Misfit Cabaret, Flux Vertical Theater, The Ruckus Revival, DAM Circus, Poisn Ivy and Princess. All these groups are working tirelessly to create out of the box art for and from the local community. 

Alex: The underground Bay Area scene. Like Drago mentioned any show produced by some of our colleagues and friends at Twisted Windows, Misfit Cabaret, Flux Vertical Theater, The Ruckus Revival, DAM Circus, Poisn Ivy, Princess and more. 

What’s coming up next for you?  (ie exhibitions and/or details for your next event) 

Our Halloween event! Dark Hallow will take place on Halloween Night, Thursday October 31st at the Continental Club in Oakland, California. This event is our 2nd annual meeting of Vampires, Werewolves and Slayers in a common “safe” ground. We invite you to choose your clan and feed only with consent… no slaying though! 

Tickets to Dark Hallow here: darkeventsdarkhallow.eventbrite.com

All Photography by Adrian Alonzo

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Alex Mak - Managing Editor

Alex Mak - Managing Editor

I'm the managing editor and co-owner of this little experiment. I enjoy covering & Publishing Bay Area News as well as writing about Arts, Culture & Nightlife.

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