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eustaciavye77I went to London for two events. One was a private party with a bunch of friends. The other was the concert the day after. There were actually three bands on the bill: Robots in Disguise, IAMX and MIndless Self Indulgence. I don't like MSI very much but it was worth it to me to see IAMX.
Robots in Disguise is one of those bands I keep hearing about but I knew almost nothing about them other than that one half of the band is Sue Denim who happens to be Chris Corner's (IAMX) long time partner. Anyway they were first on stage and my friends and I were a bit late getting into the venue so I didn't see their whole show but what I did see was a lot of fun. Good peppy music, fun crazy robot/clown hybrid costumes, good energy. At some point I'm going to look up some of their music and see if I still enjoy it independent of the onstage hijinks.
I'll skip IAMX for now....
MSI was the headliner. I don't like them. This show did nothing to change that opinion. With the exception of one or two songs, everything they perform sounds like uniform noise. The "singer" has an impressive voice but most of the time he doesn't USE it. Also his whole on stage schtick is that he continually insults his audience and tells them how much he doesn't give a crap about them and how being famous means he gets to be an asshole. Annoying and gets REALLY old after about oh, 30 seconds. I was really hoping I'd come away thinking better of them, but I didn't.
Now to what was, for me anyway, the main event: IAMX. Seen them once before and I recall leaving that show last October thinking it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen live. Memories fade though and until the show in London I had a mostly intellectual recall of this being the case. The London show was a fantastic experiential reminder that IAMX is indeed the BEST band I have ever seen live. First of all, Chris Corner has, IMNSHO, the best voice of any male in "popular" music today. Second, the musicians are great. Third, Chris writes incredible songs. However, what pushes them over the edge is that Chris has superhuman stage presence; quite a feat for a man who is literally about five foot four and normally speaks so softly you have to STRAIN to hear him. He puts on a SHOW. Everything I complained was missing from Ladytron a couple of weeks ago, Chris Corner provides in excess. What's best is that he does it without long stretches of banter between the songs (I find that a lot of artists confuse "connecting with the audience" with "babbling senselessly at the audience") The performance is relentless, one piece of music flowing right into the next and yet it still feels like... I won't say it feels like the band is making love to you because that's way too gentle. It's a lot more like the band is tying you to the bed and spanking you. I leave their shows needing a cigarette and I do not smoke.
Just cause I feel like it, check out the music video for their song Missile but DO NOT WATCH THIS AT WORK. There's no nudity but trust me it is not work safe, not even a little
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSODcPocZSo
Robots in Disguise is one of those bands I keep hearing about but I knew almost nothing about them other than that one half of the band is Sue Denim who happens to be Chris Corner's (IAMX) long time partner. Anyway they were first on stage and my friends and I were a bit late getting into the venue so I didn't see their whole show but what I did see was a lot of fun. Good peppy music, fun crazy robot/clown hybrid costumes, good energy. At some point I'm going to look up some of their music and see if I still enjoy it independent of the onstage hijinks.
I'll skip IAMX for now....
MSI was the headliner. I don't like them. This show did nothing to change that opinion. With the exception of one or two songs, everything they perform sounds like uniform noise. The "singer" has an impressive voice but most of the time he doesn't USE it. Also his whole on stage schtick is that he continually insults his audience and tells them how much he doesn't give a crap about them and how being famous means he gets to be an asshole. Annoying and gets REALLY old after about oh, 30 seconds. I was really hoping I'd come away thinking better of them, but I didn't.
Now to what was, for me anyway, the main event: IAMX. Seen them once before and I recall leaving that show last October thinking it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen live. Memories fade though and until the show in London I had a mostly intellectual recall of this being the case. The London show was a fantastic experiential reminder that IAMX is indeed the BEST band I have ever seen live. First of all, Chris Corner has, IMNSHO, the best voice of any male in "popular" music today. Second, the musicians are great. Third, Chris writes incredible songs. However, what pushes them over the edge is that Chris has superhuman stage presence; quite a feat for a man who is literally about five foot four and normally speaks so softly you have to STRAIN to hear him. He puts on a SHOW. Everything I complained was missing from Ladytron a couple of weeks ago, Chris Corner provides in excess. What's best is that he does it without long stretches of banter between the songs (I find that a lot of artists confuse "connecting with the audience" with "babbling senselessly at the audience") The performance is relentless, one piece of music flowing right into the next and yet it still feels like... I won't say it feels like the band is making love to you because that's way too gentle. It's a lot more like the band is tying you to the bed and spanking you. I leave their shows needing a cigarette and I do not smoke.
Just cause I feel like it, check out the music video for their song Missile but DO NOT WATCH THIS AT WORK. There's no nudity but trust me it is not work safe, not even a little
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSODcPocZSo
