Punk Cabaret lives in L.A.
This past Tuesday, I bunked dance class to go see my beloved Dresden Dolls at the Orpheum. My day leading up to the show was quite strange, because I should have been high all day in anticipation, but I was a bit bummed because I had bought three tickets, thinking I’d get someone to go with me, but no one I asked could make it/could afford the tickets/was interested/understood that I was asking them to go to a concert with me because I didn’t actually form the words “do you want to go to a concert tonight with me?”, so I had two tickets to get rid of. My own fault, for not securing a commitment from anyone before buying. I also was a bit hesitant to go by myself in 20’s attire, as I had never been to that part of town, didn’t know where I was going to park, and didn’t know how far I was going to have to walk in a skirt and slippery shoes. But Leah said, ‘wear your ’20’s dress, like you would for a Janet Klein show! Wear what you wanna wear!’ So I did, with a makeshift long skirt, butterfly-sleeved top and a sash ’round my waist (man, do I have to go vintage shopping for authentic ’20’s garb...). Thanks for the pep talk, Leah!
I went by myself and ended up parking across the street, so it wasn’t a far walk, and I was with other people attending the show, so everything was cool and my paranoia could quiet its annoying self down. I hung out in front of the theater for a bit, hoping to unload my tickets. All I wanted was the price I paid for them. I asked one girl if she needed tickets, but she didn’t have any cash and her ATM request was denied. Yeah. No fucking way. Although I did see her inside afterwards, so she must have given someone a handjob for the ticket...No one else looked desperate around the eyes, and there were scalpers, so I didn’t make my move on anyone else. I felt like I was a dealer on someone else’s turf, and I’d better not fuck with anyone’s business or they’d cap me. So I just went inside with two hot tickets in my purse.
This was a case where the opening acts not only were not a disappointment, they were fabulous. First, there was Prince Poppycock, who I’d seen at Fuck the Back Row with Alanna, and who operatically sang “Largo al factotum” from The Barber of Seville (“Figaro, Figaro, Figaaaarroooo…”). Then there was Sxip Shirey (pronounced “Skip”), who was unbelievable—he was a circus composer, as he called himself, and he performed songs with harmonica, a souped-up flute, a reverb pedal, and sound effects that he did vocally into the microphone. Fantastic otherworldly stuff! Then there was Jason Webley, who played accordion and sang, but in a hip way (you do know that the accordion is hip again, don’t you?). And then there were The Red Paintings, who had artists painting human canvases onstage as they played. They were from Australia, but had a Japanese theme going, as two of the female band members were dressed in traditional kimonos and the drummer had Kabuki-esque makeup on. They also had a space/alien/robot theme, with the human canvases wearing sci-fi-type headgear. Their music was rock, and very powerful. The freakiest thing to me was that behind them, they had a screen set up that was playing some fucked-up black-and-white Japanese horror movie from the ’50’s or ’60’s, where people had growths appear on them that grew into some kind of organic material/machinery bits that eventually ended up covering over their whole bodies as they screamed repeatedly. I could not take my eyes off the film. That kind of “something alien grows on you and ends up taking over your whole body” shit freaks me out. I was actually relieved when that footage ended and they showed some of the hallucination scenes from “Altered States”. That, at least, I knew and was comfortable with. And luckily, they did not show the part at the end when William Hurt morphs into a human gourd, because that would have fucked me up, too—it always does. I can handle a seven-eyed goat bleeding out from its throat, but not a lumpy, screaming human gourd.
Finally, the Dresden Dolls were up. And they began to play, and I began to sing, and I completely forgot that I had been upset about going to the show alone. I was there, seeing the Dresden Dolls! That was all that mattered! All was right with the world at that moment. I just adore their piano/drum combination, and the punk cabaret spirit that they have. Plus, they’re such highly-talented musicians, and they're creative and funny as hell. Brian makes these amazingly funny faces and gestures as he plays. They played so many of the songs I love best, like “Missed Me”, “Coin-Operated Boy”, “Half-Jack”, “Mandy Goes to Med School”, “Delilah”, Dirty Business”, and “Sing”, all of which I did sing, and loudly. They also made my night by doing “Mein Herr” from “Cabaret”! I just learned the words to that song a couple of months ago, and I belted it out at the top of my lungs along with Amanda. Fuck yeah!! They also got the lead singer from The Red Paintings onstage and sang “Mad World” (originally by Tears For Fears, but recently covered by Gary Jules)—another favorite song of mine. They did not do “Pierre”, which I’d been secretly hoping for (I have a soft spot for it because it was the first thing I ever saw them perform, and which kicks ass, as you can see), but I was ecstatic over what they did do. They said they would be signing autographs post-show, but I knew that with the size of the crowd, there’s no way in hell I would have gotten even close. Plus, I have already procured their autographs! So I left and sang even more as I drove home listening to “Sing”, over and over...
I was completely blown away by the entire night. What a lovely, delicious evening!
Alanna—missed you!! Next L.A. show, for sure, yes??
I went by myself and ended up parking across the street, so it wasn’t a far walk, and I was with other people attending the show, so everything was cool and my paranoia could quiet its annoying self down. I hung out in front of the theater for a bit, hoping to unload my tickets. All I wanted was the price I paid for them. I asked one girl if she needed tickets, but she didn’t have any cash and her ATM request was denied. Yeah. No fucking way. Although I did see her inside afterwards, so she must have given someone a handjob for the ticket...No one else looked desperate around the eyes, and there were scalpers, so I didn’t make my move on anyone else. I felt like I was a dealer on someone else’s turf, and I’d better not fuck with anyone’s business or they’d cap me. So I just went inside with two hot tickets in my purse.
This was a case where the opening acts not only were not a disappointment, they were fabulous. First, there was Prince Poppycock, who I’d seen at Fuck the Back Row with Alanna, and who operatically sang “Largo al factotum” from The Barber of Seville (“Figaro, Figaro, Figaaaarroooo…”). Then there was Sxip Shirey (pronounced “Skip”), who was unbelievable—he was a circus composer, as he called himself, and he performed songs with harmonica, a souped-up flute, a reverb pedal, and sound effects that he did vocally into the microphone. Fantastic otherworldly stuff! Then there was Jason Webley, who played accordion and sang, but in a hip way (you do know that the accordion is hip again, don’t you?). And then there were The Red Paintings, who had artists painting human canvases onstage as they played. They were from Australia, but had a Japanese theme going, as two of the female band members were dressed in traditional kimonos and the drummer had Kabuki-esque makeup on. They also had a space/alien/robot theme, with the human canvases wearing sci-fi-type headgear. Their music was rock, and very powerful. The freakiest thing to me was that behind them, they had a screen set up that was playing some fucked-up black-and-white Japanese horror movie from the ’50’s or ’60’s, where people had growths appear on them that grew into some kind of organic material/machinery bits that eventually ended up covering over their whole bodies as they screamed repeatedly. I could not take my eyes off the film. That kind of “something alien grows on you and ends up taking over your whole body” shit freaks me out. I was actually relieved when that footage ended and they showed some of the hallucination scenes from “Altered States”. That, at least, I knew and was comfortable with. And luckily, they did not show the part at the end when William Hurt morphs into a human gourd, because that would have fucked me up, too—it always does. I can handle a seven-eyed goat bleeding out from its throat, but not a lumpy, screaming human gourd.
Finally, the Dresden Dolls were up. And they began to play, and I began to sing, and I completely forgot that I had been upset about going to the show alone. I was there, seeing the Dresden Dolls! That was all that mattered! All was right with the world at that moment. I just adore their piano/drum combination, and the punk cabaret spirit that they have. Plus, they’re such highly-talented musicians, and they're creative and funny as hell. Brian makes these amazingly funny faces and gestures as he plays. They played so many of the songs I love best, like “Missed Me”, “Coin-Operated Boy”, “Half-Jack”, “Mandy Goes to Med School”, “Delilah”, Dirty Business”, and “Sing”, all of which I did sing, and loudly. They also made my night by doing “Mein Herr” from “Cabaret”! I just learned the words to that song a couple of months ago, and I belted it out at the top of my lungs along with Amanda. Fuck yeah!! They also got the lead singer from The Red Paintings onstage and sang “Mad World” (originally by Tears For Fears, but recently covered by Gary Jules)—another favorite song of mine. They did not do “Pierre”, which I’d been secretly hoping for (I have a soft spot for it because it was the first thing I ever saw them perform, and which kicks ass, as you can see), but I was ecstatic over what they did do. They said they would be signing autographs post-show, but I knew that with the size of the crowd, there’s no way in hell I would have gotten even close. Plus, I have already procured their autographs! So I left and sang even more as I drove home listening to “Sing”, over and over...
I was completely blown away by the entire night. What a lovely, delicious evening!
Alanna—missed you!! Next L.A. show, for sure, yes??
Comments
i'm SO sad you didn't find anyone to go with you! you should have called me back so i could have given you corey's number. he loooves the dresden dolls.
DEFINITELY next time, come rain or come shine. ;D