and this focusing releases a tremendous energy

Posted by Indacelio on Friday, 22 of June , 2007 at 10:30 am

There are a few bands for whom a concert is a true event; in which each opening band attempts to upstage the one before it, and the headliner oversees the fact that they are able to eclipse them all. After my experience Thursday night, I would definitely say that Skinny Puppy fits into that category in terms of their performance. But cEvin Key and Niven Ogre, the two industrial wizards that are the masterminds behind the band, do not attempt to outdo with fire, smoke, or any million-dollar flash-bang. No, Skinny Puppy is here to scare the hell out of you — and to give you a good time at the same time.

I am a big fan of industrial music, and this was the first ‘Puppy show I have ever been to. That being said, I was completely unprepared for what greeted me as an opener. I was used to industrial bands opening with… well, other industrial bands, or bands of similar caliber or likeness. Key and Ogre do not work in this fashion; as Skinny Puppy originally began as an experimental project for Key and evolved into the ferocious beast that it is now, their opening bands also possess the same avant-garde ferocity, but multiplied at least tenfold. It would be most accurate — for people who are NOT fans of noise music — to say that the opening bands proved to be an endurance test for fans to see the glorious Skinny Puppy.

First onstage was a character in a long black cape and a mock-Superhero costume (albeit black with a shining silver jockstrap), known only as Otto Von Schirach. He slunk onto the stage and gave life to the two laptops on the front table, causing a dark ambient snarling to come racing into the Fillmore. Barely a minute in, and the cloak was gone to reveal Von Schirach — at which point his electronics when completely berzerk. Think of a thick, heavy rave with every single instrument breaking, skipping, or exploding into static, and THAT is what Von Schirach’s background sounded like — not to mention the otherworldly, thunderously distorted roars that came from his microphone as he ran around the stage like a lunatic on acid. His set seemed entirely improvisational, it was too chaotic to have been otherwise; especially when it was punctuated with the arrival of a giant fur-suit wearing creature waving a staff with a synthesizer on the end of it, followed by another character dressed as… a whoopie cushion.

We were allowed about 30 minutes to rest our ears before the arrival of White Mice, who — for their structure, at least — seemed like they would be a bit more normal. The nightmarish costumes — each band member wore a hideous mask that was half head, half skull, all mouse, and the bassist and effects player wore bloodstained lab coats — should have given the audience a clue. Moments later, the band erupted into a vicious wall of noise: thundering low end punctuated with shrieks as the bassist scraped at his strings; an ominous sped-up funeral dirge of a drumbeat; and the sonic buzzsaw of the effects board, which must have pulled sounds from Hell itself.

The band blasted through a set with intensity and duration that could have matched the maniacal Otto Von Schirach, and then finally threw their instruments across the stage and departed. The wait was surprisingly short between when the Mice finished and Skinny Puppy began; I’m used to waiting for over 30 minutes at a time, though I imagine the speed was because they had less things to “tune”. In any case, it was about fifteen minutes before the lights snapped out and another ambient roar rolled into the auditorium. cEvin Key slipped past the drumset (occupied by newcomer Justin Bennett) to his keyboard-and-sampler-mounted metal fortress, and the music and beats began. Where was Ogre?

The right side of the stage had been occupied by a massive pair of sheets of tarp, pale white and covered with what looked like violent spatters of blood. Upon ‘Puppy’s entrance onstage, a glaring strobe ignited behind the screen, and a twisted silhouette appeared behind it. Only when a microphone-and-cord-like object appeared in the figure’s hand did we realize that it was Ogre. It took a few songs — powerful pieces accentuated by Key’s flooring, darkly melodic synths and Bennett’s amazing drumwork — before he emerged from behind the tarp, and was even more gruesome than his ghastly shadow had allowed him to appear. Covered from head to toe in tubing and wirework, he looked like a cyborg covered in hoses spewing black ink all over his face and body. It was soon determined that this ink was, of course, not black — it was blood red, and he violently smeared even more across the battered tarp as the show progressed.

The setlist spanned a good chunk of all of the band’s work — classics such as “Dogshit”, “Testure”, and “Rodent” threw the crowd into a frenzy (which isn’t really saying much — the audience was remarkably subdued for all the mayhem going on onstage), while the songs from their new album, released in January of this year, were also very well received. The encore spanned for four songs, all of which were rare tracks that were a true treat to listen to. The show ended with Ogre disrobing himself of his excess hardware before the encore began, and drummer Justin ending the set with a thunderous drum solo that went on for many energizing minutes before ending in an explosion of bass drum and electronic madness.

Skinny Puppy will put on a show that has the ability to either creep you the hell out, gross you the hell out, or impress the hell out of you. Personally, I got a little of each over the full span (including all the openers). Beware, those who have never seen them, that they will bring opening bands that may test your patience; but if you can endure the earsplitting cacophany of whatever sturm und drang that they put you through, the performance by Skinny Puppy will be well worth every penny on your ticket.

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