By the time Mutaytor began playing a little before 10 p.m. Thursday, it was unclear who was a member of the band: The woman with the gothic Lolita get-up? Probably. The guy dressed as a sadomasochistic clown? Absolutely. The guy in all vinyl, wearing a cowboy hat with glowing LED lights? Apparently, just a fan.

It wasn't a Black Rock City-run show, it was put on by Abstract Entertainment. But that didn't stop about 100 people from thinking it was Burning Man. Mutaytor, the dance orchestra/visual art project born in Black Rock Desert at the Burning Man festival, was visiting Sacramento for the first time, playing at Harlow's.

Though Mutaytor didn't have its entire team of pyrotechnicians, circus performers and aerial silk dancers, it still packed an audiovisual wallop. The Oingo Boingo rhythm section pumped deep grooves while the audience danced, hugged and mingled with Mutaytor's dancers during the two-hour performance.

The show started with a slideshow of words, inviting the audience to scream. It was followed by a greeting from Mutaytor guitarist Buck Down: "I hope you brought your s****ing pants, because we're going to make you s*** your pants!"

Oingo Boingo bass player John Avila kicked off the music by slapping a funky bass line, on top of which horns, two drummers, a guitarist and keyboardist added a textured groove. At different times, the seven-piece resembled Rob Zombie, Primus, and Sly and the Family Stone. Lyrics were rare, but incorporated into the music, sometimes sung, sometimes chanted.

Several songs into the set, burlesque dancers took to the stage, followed by clowns, belly dancers and a fire spinner who substituted glow sticks for flames.

About 10:30, the number of spectators increased, with among others, several men in high heels, a number of people with LED-lit top hats, and a woman with an LED-lit foam hand (Mutaytor's logo is a hand), roaming the dance floor.

The woman with the hand was dressed in a top hat with a three-inch scrolling marquee that read "Drop the Laundry!!!!!" in reference to a Mutaytor tune. She also was giving away lollipops.

As 11 p.m. neared, a few older couples took off, perhaps in anticipation of what was to come.

First, during "Drop the laundry," a pair of burlesque dancers performed a striptease. Then, after being spanked by the aforementioned sadomasochistic clown, the gothic Lolita danced with dozens of audience members and removed her corset. Before the night was over, she was almost topless, save for hand-shaped stickers affixed to her breasts.

During the last song, minutes before midnight, Buck Down instructed the audience to squat. On the count of three, the audience jumped into the air and onto the stage. People kept dancing all the way through the exits.

Gimmickry aside, Mutaytor is a talented group of artists and a wonderful dance band, deserving of a Burning Man-size audience of 40,000-plus. The next time they perform, it wouldn't be unexpected to see a fireball explode into a tower of flame.