I have to admit, I don't like being punctual. I can do it, but it causes unacceptable levels of stress in my life. Honestly, I'd rather just show up fashionably late. When it comes to shows with opening acts, I've seldom regretted this. A local band called Big Fun (probably the same group that did "Suicide - Don't Try It" in the movie
Heathers) taught me this almost 20 years ago now, opening up for Men Without Hats at Mississippi Nights. [Date?]
Maybe if I'd have even heard of The Red House Painters things would have been different, but "Australian experimental electronic" had entirely to many vowels in it for my taste. If I'd thought things through, however, I'd have known that The Dresden Dolls might very well put together a show worth some punctuality pains. Instead, I realized this as we walked in the door and Amanda Palmer was thanking the pole-dancers and Something Elvis (does anyone remember what she said?) that had just left the stage.
We didn't miss much of the main event, at least, as The Dolls were just starting their second song as we took our seats. I can't tell you what they were playing, although I remember it being one of my favorites from the first album. However, I spent those first few songs mesmerized by the girl doing chalk drawings at the farthest point stage right. It wasn't her art, which reminded me entirely too much of the goth-chick drawings from coffee houses past. (I've never been able to appreciate goth-chick art, poetry, music, etc. properly... or at least not properly enough to have closed the deal with many goth-chicks.) It wasn't her dancing, which was a kind of back-turned booty-shake at best. It wasn't even her body, which was nothing to sneeze at unless perhaps
she had a cold or something. But the combination of three - the way the drawing took shape as her arm moved with the melody and her hips swayed to the beat - was a pretty impressive performance piece. By the end of the show, she was doing chalk drawings on people's backs, which was substantially less visible but extremely cool nevertheless.
The Dresden Dolls were of course amazing as always. This is only the second time I've seen them live, both times at The Pageant, and I was again astounded by the energy that two people on a mostly-empty stage can create. Their shows remind me of the way it felt seeing some classic punk bands waybackwhen, like Black Flag with less anger and more sex. Of course, there's anger as well - with two percussionists on stage, how could there not be - but it's always delivered with a wink and a nod, sometimes literally. I don't know what kind of personal relationship Amanda and Brian have, and perhaps I don't want to. The
fantasies speculations inspired by the Backstabber videos are far too much fun to be ruined by mere realities. However, I find it amazing that there can be that much sexual tension between two people on a stage ten yards apart behind musical instruments in front of 1500 people, regardless of the personal dynamics that make it happen.
I wish I was the sort of person that could run down the entire set-list from memory, or even find it online, but the best I can do is the few recollections that Topher and I managed to cobble together 24 hours later. I think we may have come in during "Girl Anachronism" - can't be certain, but it was played and I didn't pay much attention, so that makes sense. There was a great version of Missed Me pretty early, which really got the crowd going, and a sing-along "Coin-Operated Boy." Brian repeatedly silenced Amanda during the "I want a..." skip-repeat bit and used his sticks to conduct the audience as a chorus. There's something pretty hot about a few hundred girls singing that over and over again.
I had a curious moment of
deja vu when they launched into their cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs," both because they had played it when I saw them previously and because I had just seen The Flaming Lips cover it the last time I was at The Pageant. I think my preference for slightly skewed covers leans me towards The Lips' version in a fair fight, but The Dresden Dolls are unsurprisingly more faithful to the original and they tore shit up. They closed with several songs from the new album, including (at least) "Dirty Business" and "First Orgasm," and walked off to a (nigh-guaranteed) thunderous standing ovation. They made us pound on things for four or five minutes before they came back for the (contractually-obligated) encore, but they rewarded us with a guy with a guitar and a green gown. I was a little bit worried when he was introduced as a member (leader?) of the opening band - "guy with guitar and green gown in Australian experiemental electronic outfit" is a lot of alliteration for aspiring anchormen perched in precarious positions - but they totally blew away the rest of the show by breaking out Tears For Fears' "Mad World." I remember buying that album not too much after it came out, 1983 or 1984, probably because I heard Les Aaron play "Mad World" on WMRY. Ah, to be young and have no taste again.
There was another song after this, then they closed the encore with "Half-Jack." Or so I'm told, the cover of "Mad World" left me feeling an odd combination of drained and filled. I decided that I needed a quick trip to the restroom so I would at least feel merely drained.
