There's no Hitler and no Holocaust, no winter and no Santa Claus

[vovat]

I just recently got back from the Dresden Dolls show at the TLA in Philadelphia. Doors were supposedly at 9, but I got there only a few minutes after 9 (after taking a while to find a space in the parking garage), and quite a few people had already gone in. I went up to the balcony to try to find a seat, but none were available. I stayed up there for the opening act, the Red Paintings. My initial thought about them was just that they were loud, but they kind of grew on me after a while. They weren't great, but they weren't terrible either. They had one song where they referenced the "Do cats eat bats?" bit from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but Alice references aren't necessarily a ticket to instant coolness. If they were, I'd have to like that stupid Jefferson Airplane song. :P Oh, and the Red Paintings didn't have the film backdrop that revme mentioned seeing, but they DID have some people on stage with them painting abstract pictures.

During the intermission, I went downstairs to the merchandise table, where I bought a copy of A Is For Accident and a set of two posters. I just stayed down there after that, since there was no point in going back to the balcony when there were no seats. Quite a few people in the audience were dressed in costumes, which was kind of cool. Anyway, after a while, we were introduced to Titler, a novelty musician wearing a Hitler mustache and a tank top. He did four short songs, the most memorable of which was about how Jesus never existed. I'm glad his set was short, because it was the kind of thing that was funny in a small dose, but had the potential to get old fast. The MC (whose hair looked like a cross between Einstein's and Justin Guarini's) followed this up by playing something on a doctored flute with a microphone attached, and then brought out (not literally) the Dresden Dolls.

As much fun as it is to just listen to the Dolls' music, watching them perform it adds a lot to the experience. They're so full of energy and enthusiasm. The setlist included everything I had wanted to hear, plus more. A duo of dancers, whom I believe were collectively called Ladybird, accompanied them on "Gravity," "The Jeep Song," and "Mandy Goes To Med School." Also for "Jeep," the band brought a few people from the audience on stage to sing the backing vocals. All in all, it was a great show. I'd definitely recommend seeing the Dolls if they ever play in your neck of the woods.

Comments

[revme.livejournal.com]

OH, cool, I think the MC was the same for the Seattle show. I liked him. It sucks that they didn't have the film, though. I thought the band was ok enough, but the film was awesome. Hopefully limnrix, who's going to be one of the painters tonight, will be able to find out what it was. But yeah -- at my show, they had the film, two painters in the background just sitting on the floor that no one noticed until they held up the paintings at the end of the set, and then two other painters in front painting a couple people.

I didn't know that Titler was an actual performer -- I'd seen some of the Titler shorts in Fuck The Backrow, and I basically came with the same response -- funny in bits, but not so much if it were a big ol' chunk of Titler.

Hooray for Ladybird, too!

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I think the MC was the same for the Seattle show. I liked him.

Yeah, he was pretty cool. His name was Skip something. I tried to look it up on Google, but searches from "Dresden Dolls" and "Skip" just turned up a lot of pages with other uses of the word "skip."

But yeah -- at my show, they had the film, two painters in the background just sitting on the floor that no one noticed until they held up the paintings at the end of the set, and then two other painters in front painting a couple people.

I didn't notice the painters at first, but the lead singer announced their presence part of the way through the set. They held up the finished pictures at the end, but I couldn't see them very well, seeing as how I was on the balcony at the time. When you saw them, was the film projected on a screen, or just on the back curtain (or wall, depending on how the stage was set up)?

Titler is apparently from Philadelphia. The MC said something about how weird it was that the city produced both Boyz 2 Men and Titler. {g}

[revme.livejournal.com]

I think the MC Guy had CDs, but I didn't see them at the merch table, and couldn't remember his name so... yeah. Apparently you have remembered more than I, in that I didn't even remember "Skip"!

As for the Red Paintings, IIRC, they had a screen drop down behind them, but it was so large that it might as well have just been the wall/back curtain. It was one of those kind of screens. I think it was probably the Venue's DVD Projector, though (I know it was a DVD, since before the set, um, the "DVD Video" logo showed up and such before the disc started), so if your venue didn't have one, then that might have been the case. But I think most venues have them now. Hm. Either way, though, it was big!

Perhaps Boyz II Men and Titler should collaborate! And have a bacon steak.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

They were selling Skip's CD's at the show last night, and I DID see them at the table, but I didn't look closely at them.

Maybe they didn't play the movie because the TLA doesn't have a screen for the stage? I don't really know if it does, but that's a possibility, I suppose.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

If they were, I'd have to like that stupid Jefferson Airplane song. :P

That song's cool. :P back.

[onib.livejournal.com]

The Dresden Dolls "street team" always shows up at venues in costume doing something cool. When I saw them last, one girl was selling paper flowers with quotes written on the paper in the stamen. You sort of never know what to expect. I'm sorry I was out of town for this one.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

There were a few people selling candy apples in the lobby, one of whom was wearing some sort of paper leaf bra.

I had been wondering if you were going to the Philadelphia show. I guess you've answered my question. {g}