Level 8: The Showman Clones

When I was in my mid-twenties, I loved to throw lavish parties — as lavish as you can throw in a 500-square-foot apartment — especially for Halloween. My studio would be covered in spiderwebs, skulls, grave candles, and crime scene tape. The snacks would look disgusting, and I’d project videos from my carefully curated YouTube playlist of “scary” songs / music videos (Thriller, Ghosts, The Monster Mash, Ghostbuster theme song, Everybody, etc.) onto one wall.

For Halloween 2009, I dressed up as Michael Jackson (as did many more people than usual that year), wearing a black shirt with gold braiding and rope detailing on the front, a red faux leather jacket, and a black fedora. I’m not telling this anecdote to brag about getting the color palette right. I’m publicly recounting this mess of an outfit, which is just a sad mix of three different MJ eras worn by a blonde lady, to fuel the frustration that Level 8 fans — The Showman Clones — must be feeling as they read this account of an uncultured philistine like me.

The Showman Clones have perfected the look, sound, and movement of the King. Like year-round Neverland Santas, they can be found on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in Times Square, or simply in a subway station. While the Community Campaigners use content to keep Jackson’s mythology alive, the Showman Clones use performance and style.

For them, spending thousands of dollars on replica costumes is an investment. A growing industry of tribute shows gives these acts a chance to express their talent, celebrate MJ’s art, and unite Level 2 and higher fandom. Some draw crowds of 15,000 or more. As Oscar Wilde never let’s us forget: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness”. In their case, it is paying off.

But what is the origin story of the Showman Clones? It must have been that fateful day in the arcade in 1990. (A quick side note for the Emerging Enthusiasts: Before video games came into our homes, teenagers had to go to a special place to play games like Pac-Man or Space Invaders. It was a world of wonder and neon lights. Level 2 fans can tell you more about that.)

During the summer break, the Showman Clones were hanging out with their buddies as usual when they noticed a shiny new addition to the arcade’s video games: Moonwalker. Set to a 16-bit instrumental of Smooth Criminal and featuring visuals from the same music video, the goal of the game is for the main hero (Michael Jackson) to use his special dance moves as attacks against the villains to rescue kidnapped children.

Although, somehow, they never got to play a sequel to this game as the 90s progressed, it marked the first time that the Showman Clones could step into Michael’s shoes, at least virtually. An exhilarating feeling that hasn’t left them since.