Diablo’s Downtown Lounge was on fire Thursday night; no one was harmed, but people were definitely blown away.
As intermission entertainment for the Eugene Drama Kings, Earth Matters Productions amazed the crowd with a daredevil fire dancing and juggling routine.
Earth Matters is a performance group that merges the GreyMatter Jugglers, the highly skilled and very funny Mark Hewitt, Brian Thompson and Mike Seager, with Sirk, the dexterous, expert fire dancer with folk roots from Earth DescenDance.
Thompson, who learned how to juggle at summer camp, said he started performing with GreyMatter within the past year.
“I’ve been going to the UO Juggling Club for like five years now,” he said.
When asked about juggling with fire, the pink-haired Thompson said, “It’s pretty fucking scary – especially some of the things these guys make me do.”
Seager, dressed up like a schoolgirl, said he began juggling at Iowa State University. “There’s a really big juggling club there and I started with that in 2000,” he said.
He said he incorporated fire only a year after he learned how to juggle.
“I’ve always been a pyro,” he said.
Hewitt, wearing suspenders and short shorts, said he sees juggling as a form of meditation. “It’s really good for the brain and the body,” he said.
The masked Sirk said he started performing at an early age.
“My mom put me on stage,” he said. “From my birthright, I am a Polynesian dancer.”
After a short history lesson on the Samoan Fire Knife, or Nifo Oti, Sirk said his favorite part of performing is the audience.
Thompson, interrupting, threw his arms around Sirk’s shoulders and whined, “I thought it was hanging out with us.”
“That’s a close second,” Sirk continued. “Just their drive to watch-”
Thompson interjected, “We do it for the money.”
When asked what students should know about juggling, Hewitt said, “They can send checks or PayPal.”
Seager added, “They can book us through our Web site. We’ll pretty much do anything.”
During the intermission show, patrons spilled out into the garage area of Diablo’s to watch the group perform with flaming batons, fans, torches and balls.
One of the most fantastic – read: most dangerous – parts of the Earth Matters show included Hewitt, Seager and Thompson juggling nine torches in a linear pattern.
Fiery torches skimmed past Hewitt’s face and landed perfectly in Thompson’s right hand.
Another over-the-top moment came when Sirk was dancing with a large baton. He scraped the two flaming sides against the ground, surrounding himself with a five-foot circle of fire.
Providing a constant soundtrack to the group’s risky antics was well-known saxophonist Tomo Tsurumí.
Tsurumí said he has never had a lesson.
“My parents didn’t buy me Nintendo,” he said. “So, I played the plastic recorder.”
Tsurumí spent time at a friend’s house, replicating the Nintendo’s music on his plastic instrument.
“I became the classroom hero the day after. ‘Look, Tomo’s playing Mario Brothers,’” he said.
“When I was 17, I changed my gear to saxophone.”
Tsurumí, who moved to the U.S. from Japan in 1995, said he likes to jam with different performers.
“I like good performers. These guys are always trying to improve themselves,” he said. “Their lives are very similar to that of a musician.”
Tsurumí said when you see crazy people performing, don’t be scared.

“Even if you don’t have change – I know you’re a college student and many college students are broke. It’s OK,” he said. “Enjoy the show and give us a smile because that is the best reward.”
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