AMANDA PALMER
MELISSA AUF DER MAUR
ROBOTS IN DISGUISE
BITTER RUIN
Tonight should have been the UK debut of conjoined twins Evelyn Evelyn along with their good friends Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley, but due to the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull and all of the volcanic ash creating havoc in the skies, Jason and therefore the Twins were unable to make it. Luckily Amanda had help from new friends Bitter Ruin, Robots in Disguise and Melissa Auf Der Maur who is stranded in the UK, and together they put on a party of epic proportions.
Amanda acting as party host, compare and headliner introduces Brighton 2 piece band Bitter Ruin whom she only met during this tour. Although the set is brief, their theatrical performance is completely compelling and vocalist Georgina and guitarist/vocalist Ben Richards compliment each other perfectly as they act out their roles during each short tail.
Following them we have Robots in Disguise who are introduced by Amanda who is part way through getting herself ready for the gig. This is a RID gig with a difference as tonight they are playing a fully acoustic set, and while the overall result sound is a bit less manic, the performance is as great as ever. We even get treated to their new single twice, but lucky for us it’s a cracker.
After a hike from Finland, Melissa Auf Der Maur and her band who rushed to London to play their own gig (which got cancelled, before a new one was announced last minute… or something like that), found themselves as the main support band tonight. Although they are playing acoustic tonight (borrowing equipment from the Robot girls) they still manage to put on a rocking show, and just like 5 years ago when Melissa was touring her debut album, she still sounds wonderful. Playing a mixture of old and new material it’s great to see her again on stage where she belongs, and if there is any good things to be taken from the volcanic disruptions, then leaving Melissa stranded in London for an extra night is definitely one of the bonuses.
… and that leaves Amanda Fucking Palmer to close the party while Jason Webley makes his way to the UK. What can you say that has never been said before? The set is as crazy as you’d expect, with the inbetween song chat as entertaining as her music, an with an arsenal of her solo work and the back catalogue of The Dresden Dolls to pick from she could pretty much play all night without ever getting boring.
One of the highlights of the night is a solo ukulele rendition of Radiohead’s ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ before which we are informed that she will be releasing a compilation of ukulele Radiohead covers later on in the year. It sounded like a joke, but after tonight’s track and her old cover of ‘Creep’, I really hope it happens. (After catching up on her blog I’m pleased to see this WILL be happening!!)
In the absence of her conjoined twin sister, Amanda duets via “Skype webcast” with Jason as he travels by plane as they attempt to get through an Evelyn Evelyn track with great success. Next up is a rendition of her new internet freebie singled titled ‘Do You Swear To Tell The Truth The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth So Help Your Black Ass’ which just happens to be her first release to celebrate her freedom from Roadrunner Records. The stumbling over the piano notes and switching verses around due to forgetting to sing one just makes it that more loveable.
Another of the many highlights is the recently written track “Fuck the Volcano Ash” which Amanda co-wrote with her Fiancé Neil Gaiman. Georgia Train is brought back on stage to perform it with Amanda but equally essential is the audience participation.
In tribute to the days funeral procession of the legendary Malcolm McLaren, Amanda invites the front row of the audience to the stage, along with anyone else who can get there, for a karaoke rendition of ‘Anarchy in the UK’ which is just about the perfect way that you can end a riot of a night.
A superb set of photos with brilliant light.
The light at Bush Hall was rather subdued with a lot of red but there was still enough. Here‘s my set from Friday night. Saturday to follow soon.
Hi, I’m the girl from Bitter Ruin, I reall lve these pics. Could you e-mail them to me so that we can stick them up on our site…we will of course keep your logo on them. E-mail georgiatrain@hotmail.co.uk
Hey Georgia,
Glad you like the photos, you and Ben were awesome at Koko and The Underworld (photos of that will be online when I get around to it).
Will send you some shots when I’m next at my home computer.
Dan