Dresden Dolls – London Roundhouse – 3.11.06
We arrived at the venue about 20 mins after doors open, and because quite a few people in the front row were complaining of a “crush” they left the barrier, which means that i got a lovely right of center view for the whole show. Well, the whole main show.
The gig was MC’ed by comedienne Margaret Cho, who introduced several circus acts and cabaret artists who servd as the warm-up. As the gig was in the Roundhouse (which is quite literally a round house) one act would be on the balcony, then another in the centre, then another on stage etc. As a result the evening had a very bohemian and circus-like atmosphere – I was certainly getting some good bang for my buck!<
The final warm-up slot was run by Margaret Cho herself, not performing a comedy act, but a striptease to an Aria, complete with full “metaphorical sex with climax at the end”. It was much more poetic and beautiful than anything i’ve seen a fair few burlesque artists do. Of course Cho pulled the relevant faces, and she ended her show by taking off her pants to reveal a prosthetic penis.
The Dresden Dolls themselves were excellent as always, playing a 2h20 long show. They were accompanied by mime artists, stilt walkers, and a aerial acrobat, playing almost the full catalogue and more including one b-side, three covers, and a somewhat haphazard version of Girl Anachronism. I suppose I should mention that the Jeep Song was played with some help from the audience, as apparently they don’t play it live due to the need for back-up vocals. I could sense that the show was overrunning about 3 songs from the end, and I was sort of ready for a sit down, but I enjoyed the theatrics of the evening until the end nonetheless.
Anastrophe and Cheese 