Electric Circus

Electric Circus (also known as EC) is a Canadian live dance music television program that aired on MuchMusic and Citytv from September 16, 1988 to December 12, 2003. The name originated from a nightclub that once existed at Citytv's first studio at 99 Queen Street East in Toronto.

Beginning in 1994, the show was also simulcast on MuchUSA. It had a loyal following among United States viewers, especially dance music fans, who tuned in because it was the only place to see artists and videos from the genre. A Francophone version of Electric Circus aired on Musique Plus, broadcasting live from Montreal in the same format as the Toronto version.

Description

The MuchMusic studio on the main floor of the CHUM-City Building in Toronto was used to film the show. Audiences often spilled out onto Queen Street West, and on warm days, the windows to the studio were opened with some acts performing outside. It was common for dancers to be stationed on the CHUM-City rooftop, or even on the rooftops of buildings across the street, effectively making the surrounding neighborhood part of the set. Most music was prerecorded, but live acts were invited onto some shows, and in the 1990s guest D.J.s were also featured. The show was hosted by Monika Deol and Michael Williams until 1996, followed by Juliette Powell until 2000. The show also featured dancing floor director MC Craig F. (Craig Halket of Combat Des Clips on MuchMusic). After that, Electric Circus had a variety of hosts. The show ran for an hour and a half until 2001, when it was shortened to one hour. Two concerts were hosted annually: one at Canada's Wonderland during the summer, and another at Winterlude in Ottawa during the winter.

Electric Circus (album)

Electric Circus is the fifth studio album by rapper Common, released December 10, 2002 on the now-defunct MCA Records. The album was highly anticipated and praised by many critics for its ambitious vision. However, it was not as commercially successful as his previous album, Like Water for Chocolate, selling under 300,000 copies. An eclectic album, Electric Circus featured fusions of several genres such as hip hop, pop, rock, electronic, and neo soul. "I wasn't feeling hip hop," the rapper remarked. "So my motivation for that album were other genres of music, like Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix. It wasn't hip hop." This was Common's second and last album for MCA, and the label's final release prior to its absorption into Geffen Records.

Music

The label hadn't heard my music until I got near the end of the album. At one point it was like 'yo, man, you departed so far from the last album... the music you're making ain't really conducive to what's going on in modern music right now'.

Electric Circus (disambiguation)

The name Electric Circus can refer to:

Electric Circus (nightclub)

Coordinates: 40°43′45″N 73°59′19″W / 40.729169°N 73.988682°W / 40.729169; -73.988682

The Electric Circus was a nightclub and discotheque located at 19-25 St. Marks Place between Second and Third Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, from 1967 to September 1971. The club was created by Jerry Brandt, Stanton J. Freeman and their partners and designed by Chermayeff & Geismar. With its invitation (from one of its press releases) to "play games, dress as you like, dance, sit, think, tune in and turn on," and its mix of light shows, music, circus performers and experimental theater, the Electric Circus embodied the wild and creative side of 1960s club culture.

Flame throwing jugglers and trapeze artists performed between musical sets, strobe lights flashed over a huge dance floor, and multiple projectors flashed images and footage from home movies. Seating was varied, with sofas provided. The Electric Circus became "New York's ultimate mixed-media pleasure dome, and its hallucinogenic light baths enthralled every sector of New York society." Its hedonistic atmosphere also influenced the later rise of disco culture and discotheques.