How an informal suburban gathering for artists and bohemians became a regular highlight for Sydney’s alternative queers. Myles Formby steps into THE CARNIVAL OF ELECTRIC ILLUSIONS.

A new event for the alternative queer has hit Oxford Street. The Carnival of Electric Illusions joins more established nights like Loose Ends in Sydney and Trough Faggot Party in Melbourne to offer Oxford Street queers something more than handbag house and shirtless muscle boys. 

The Carnival started as a series of private house parties held by a group of new media artists in Newtown in Sydney’s inner west. Matthew Robert Parsons, a former God-fearing Mormon from Idaho, met the group while rollerblading in Newtown.

“They were in the 7-Eleven photocopying their faces when I rollerbladed past covered in lights. We hit it off and they asked me back to their house to join the party,” he tells AXN.

Word spread fast about the parties. So popular were they that the party-loving coven was evicted from their home, which they had dubbed ‘The Aviary’.

In late 2007, the group made the decision to turn their informal nights into a business, to be hosted at a variety of venues on Oxford Street.

Parsons, aka Mat Glowman, says The Carnival was inspired by Club Bohemia in London and is a creative space where artists and performers thrive.

“We want to move beyond the Oxford Street scene where if you’re a bear you go here, if you’re a twink you go there. If you’re interesting, come to Electric Illusions,” he says.

Parsons understands the need for a space where queers left of centre can fit in. He grew up on a dairy farm in the Rocky Mountains in Idaho with Mormon parents, and moved to Australia to come out.

“When I left the Mormon Church on philosophical grounds they said you can come back any time. But when I came out, I was excommunicated and big black lines drawn through my name on every list,” he says.

Once in new-found land, he came out, found love and a tribe of people who share his passion for dressing in the brightest clothes possible.

Party punters dress to a theme, which changes each month.  The most recent was a ‘toy’ theme – think Hello Kitty meets Blade Runner. Underground band Toy Death played using modified electronic toys pumped through an amplifier, creating a surreal sound. 

The party goers plan their outfits months ahead, and draw inspiration from a variety of sources, including the cult Harajuku girls of Tokyo, who dress like Care Bears on acid. Up next? ‘A Very Happy Un-Birthday’, which tips a bonnet to Lewis Carol’s Mad Hatter.

The success of nights like The Carnival and Loose Ends at the Phoenix confirms the need for alternative spaces in Sydney. Matt Vaughan, resident DJ and promoter of Loose Ends, says there are a lot of people out there looking for something a bit different.

“I’m not interested in mainstream clubs,” he says. “Most nights play generic music. In a big city it’s important to offer something that thinks a bit out of the box.” AXN

The next Carnival of Electric Illusions will be held on Friday, April 18 at 35B at Q Bar, Sydney.  Visit myspace.com/electricillusions.