Skinny Puppy

[drukman%UMASS.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu (Jonathan S. Drukman)]

More thrills than humans should be allowed to have in one night.
Skinny Puppy at the Paradise in Boston.  Went with Joe Turner, friend and
love-hound extraordinaire.  We waited out in the freezing cold (in May, no
less) for an eternity.  They opened the box office an hour and ten minutes
after the posted time.  Sucked eggs.  Finally, we got in and saw the opener
whose name was something like Edward Ka-Spel.  What a pretentious slime. He
stood there with mostly backing tapes going and strobe lights and smoke
pulsing and flowing.  He ranted some ridiculous lyrics while making silly
gestures.  Too dependent on sequencers for my taste.  }iOccasiomnally he'd
play something on his ROland, but it was mostly squeals of white noise.
After he left we ran into :>oug and his office mate, Paul.  Then Skinny
Puppy showed up and decimated my eardrums for a while.  These guys are even
sillier than the opener.  The lead singer looked like my friend Grot
covered in fake wounds and dirt.  He was very spastic, and totally
incomprehensible through the sonic mishmash.  They need a better mix.  I think
there was some synth playing going on under the pounding drum machine and
snarling vocals, but the mix was poor, so I could barely hear it.  Anyway,
they played for a while, blew up some things, set off lots of fireworks,
etc.  Then some guy comes out in a straightjacket and blows away the lead
singer with a nasty gun, shooting blood all over the audience.  This was
one show where I was not happy to have been in the second row.  Nasty
shit.  Oh well, at least I got to "take the experience home with me" as
Joe put it...  Anyway, if they're coming to your local club, go see 'em,
but bring sonic ear filters and stand well back!

--Jon Drukman
"htrae elttil peels ot og"
   --Kate Bush played backwards