Dresden Dolls live October 28, 2006

Punk cabaret outfit The Dresden Dolls brought a whole circus of performers to the Theatre of the Living Arts on Saturday, Oct. 28. The event boasted a main attraction (The Dresden Dolls), a ringleader (MC Sxip Shirey), a supporting attraction (The Red Paintings) and even a freak show (Titler… I’ll explain later). DD fans, often referred to as The Brigade, were out in full gothic garb, dressed as mythical creatures, torture victims and even a jack-in-the-box. An unusual crowd for an unusual show, surely, but the night was still predictable in one sense: The Dresden Dolls are still one of the best live bands today.

The master of ceremonies, Shirey, opened the night with a few jokes, anecdotes and quirky song performances. Adept at working a crowd of any size, he entertained with his original compositions written for (among other things) a slide whistle, a broken flute and a bowl with a marble. Ever inventively, he used gaffer tape (“It’s super duct tape!” he exclaimed) to combine three whistles together.

These whistles, mixed with Shirey’s impressive beatboxing ability and vocal effects, created some of the best dance tunes of the night. Shirey ended his first set with some help from Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione for a hip-hop-influenced jam session. Having successfully energized the crowd, Shirey introduced the first act of the evening, The Red Paintings.

Hailing from Australia, alternative rock band The Red Paintings opened strong, but their initially interesting sound soon fizzled out thanks to instrumental repetition, lame crowd interaction and just simply awful lyrics. But what they lacked in chops, they compensated for with a colorful, vibrant presentation.

Comprised of guitar, bass, drums and violin, the band members adorned themselves in kabuki clothing, while frontman Trash McSweeney presented himself as an all-green Mad Hatter. The swirling distortion of McSweeney’s guitar created a rocking atmosphere for violinist Ellen Stancombe’s own instrumentation to glide over. Like a dirtier, trashier and punker Camper Van Beethoven, The Red Paintings thrashed about for the enthusiastic crowd. Meanwhile, the band surrounded itself with painters, one working with canvas and two with human bodies, for the entirety of their set.

It made for decadent, gaudy performance art, which was cool for the first 20 minutes. Then, the band’s set took a wrong turn with the song “Redneck.” It was the first time in the set that McSweeney’s words were actually decipherable, which is a shame considering the song’s chorus was, “You’re a redneck, you’re a redneck, you’re a redneck, you’re a redneck.” Underneath all of the layers of kitschy color, The Red Paintings are just another band with very little to actually say.

Following a cover of The Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen,” featuring Viglione on guitar, and their own nihilistic anthem, the epic “The Revolution is Never Coming,” The Red Paintings walked off stage, to great applause.

MC Shirey then stepped back out with a few more of his whimsical tunes, and then introduced another side performer, Titler. Titler’s act is pretty basic shock value — he looks like Adolph Hiter and he has… “titular assets.” Clad in a black dress, Titler’s entrance was the funniest moment of the night. Then he stuck around for another 10 minutes. After butchering Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” and unrolling two horrid originals, Titler wrapped up his centimeter-thin premise.

Finally, Shirey came out to introduce the headlining act, The Dresden Dolls. Amanda Palmer and her “rock love” companion, the ever resourceful Viglione, came out to thunderous applause and then launched into “Sex Changes,” the first track off of Yes, Virginia..., their latest album. Palmer’s piano and Viglione’s drums and guitar danced around each other with plenty of space to move. Punk rock and ferocious, Palmer is as fierce a frontwoman as Patti Smith or Debbie Harry. Viglione, meanwhile, pounds and picks like alt rock icons Dave Grohl or Gavin Rossdale.

Song after song, The Dresden Dolls wowed the crowd. Among choice cuts from Yes, Virginia… and The Dresden Dolls like “Dirty Business” and “Coin-Operated Boy,” the band slipped in some rarities and covers. The unreleased punk tune “Lonesome Organist Rapes Page Turner” sped along brilliantly, while the group’s acoustic rendition of Cabaret’s “Mein Herr” proved equally entertaining. Though the set was a little bogged down by sub-par Virginia material like “Modern Moonlight, “Mrs. O.” and “Mandy Goes to Med School,” the fervor of the playing compensated.

The Dresden Dolls are one of the best bar bands in America, and they can rock and/or roll any which way they please. While they played the epic “Delilah” note-for-note like the recorded version, they gave “Half Jack” an intense, lengthy and improvised rock intro.

Like any good bar band, they also busted out some surprising covers. Aside from the aforementioned “Mein Herr,” The Dresden Dolls also covered “Mad World” by Tears For Fears. With the help of The Red Paintings’ McSweeney, they began in the style of the soft Gary Jules version of the song. After the first chorus, however, the tune took a dramatic twist, as the Dolls and McSweeney rocked the tune out in trademark punk cabaret fashion. Other excellent performances included “The Jeep Song,” “Backstabber” and “Shores of California.”

After ending their encore with “Half Jack” and “Girl Anachronism,” The Dresden Dolls concluded their carnival ride of rock. The sold-out audience was more than merely satisfied by the dark, twisted performers. Sympathy goes out to the girl dressed as Eve, though. It must have been cold walking back to her car with only her bush to keep her warm.