Electric Warriors Glamstravaganza at Great Scott, Decemebr 8, 2007
By LIZA WEISSTUCH | December 10, 2007
MeandJoanCollins |
Billing a show as a “Glamstravaganza” sets up some specific expectations: glitter, light shows, epic anthems, stylish sleaze, full-length knitted body stockings, more glitter. David Bowie was evoked more than once as the patron saint of Saturday’s affair at Great Scott — not least by the exuberant MC, Micah Cooper, a brawny tranny who buoyed the night with nostalgic tales from the acid-steeped trenches of the 1970s. But the icon may have been disappointed to see so little swagger or overwrought bravado. (I did, however, encounter Logan 5 & the Runners guitarist Nick Balkin, who had organized the gig, working the crowd and admitting to donning mascara for the first time.)
Sidewalk Driver set the tone well enough, with strutting frontman Tad McKitterick in a shimmery ensemble that included a lavish silk kimono. Their rowdy but earnest songs were anchored by a crunching rhythm; you got the idea that, in a bigger quarters, they might be able to incite a semblance of a ballroom blitz. Here, however, the MO was one of restraint. MeandJoanCollins stepped up next, and former Collisions leader Bo Barranger, in a brocaded smoking jacket, was typically dynamic. But glam? Not quite. MeandJoanCollins draw from Britpop, especially bands with garage-rock roots, and though much glitter rock is arguably Britpop, not all Britpop is glam. Glam should flog us with theatricality — decadent melodrama — and songs that offer futuristic fantasies (Life on Mars, anyone?), not laments set to catchy pop hooks. Logan 5 and the Runners’ David Berndt did nail a blasé melodrama, channeling Andy Warhol–esque androgyny. Their electronic grandeur would translate well to a concert hall. Ad Frank closed the night proclaiming, “Someone get me another one of those glamtinis, I feel glammarific!” Then he launched into a set with the Fast Easy Women that was spectacular but no spectacle, proving once and for all that glam is a state of mind.
Related:
High drama, Real to reel, Post-punk pantheon, More 
- High drama
It's a quintessential rock-and-roll love story. Sort of . . .
- Real to reel
Even now, after Greil Marcus’s Lipstick Traces and Simon Reynolds’s Rip It Up and Start Again , the rock-star-as-vector-of-ideas is still something of a challenge for us.
- Post-punk pantheon
They were, by definition, misfits.
- Close shave
If it weren’t for his beloved turn as Jack Sparrow in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Johnny Depp would best be known as the cinematic alter ego of Tim Burton.
- Portland scene report: February 15, 2008
If it’s half as fun as the Ghost Bar in Vegas, it’ll be a whiz-bang affair.
- Fuming through the dog days
In preparation for another three months of endless days and sweaty nights, here are five new albums to get you through the summer.
- Portland scene report, March 31, 2006
New music in the works for Now Transmission, Pete Kilpatrick, El Grande, Hi Fivin' White Guys, and Enchantments
- Other music meccas
- They’ve got issues
As newspapers and magazines slim and shift their focus to online content and revenue streams, it has become sadly commonplace to overlook the unique capabilities of periodically printed matter.
- Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
Even if Andy Warhol did call filmmaker Jack Smith “the only person I would ever copy,” Mary Jordan’s portrait of the avant-garde anti-hero goes a little far in asserting his importance.
- The 40 greatest concerts in Boston history: 18
Velvet Underground and the Exploding Plastic Inevitable | the ICA | October 29, 1966
- Less
Topics:
Live Reviews
, Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music, More
, Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music, David Bowie, Andy Warhol, sidewalk driver, meandjoancollins, logan 5 AND THE RUNNERS, Less
