BUT IS IT ART?

ARE FRENZ ELECTRIC Launch Party

Gob$au$age + Reptilian Space Wigs + Longinglightning + Braindead Collective + DJ Dan Donovan + Deptford Noise Team + Little Eris + DJ Tab

My neighbour played a hilarious gig on a boat moored to the north side of the Thames last night. We arrived quite early and got to listen to a great dubstep set from someone who turned out to be ex- B.A.D. All so good though at bloody Scandinavian beer prices I realised I wasn't going to have a riot.Then on came a couple of half naked tall gentlemen with silver capes and sort of alien/frog masks. One played horrible heavy metal guitar whilst the other squeezed strangled loops out of a kaossilator with a largish guy struggling to keep a very dodgy PA working. Things were falling over, the sound continualy fucked up and the set finnished almost as soon as it started leaving me with the feeling thast they weren't taking the whole thing very seriously.

After a little bit more DJing my neighbour who calls her project LongingLightning came on and did her Harp/Theromin/Voice loops thing which went great until the PA cut out mid song. None of the power visibly went, no lights switched off. Later I got the feeling thast she had maybe been too professional for the vibe of the night, the equipment forcing its own meltdown on her as she wasn't going to melt herself.


Anyway she was followed by a friendly Welsh chick and her stilletoed friend who had been calm and sociable only an hour earlier but as they took the stage area they were tottering, one more alarmingly than the other. Equipment was set up, the sound guy struggled to attatch it to the dodgy PA whilst the cute Welsh chick swore into a microphone about everything not working. Her friend behind her was quickly oblivious to everything around her and started the gig on her own, singing quietly into a microphone. She fell over three times and eventually slid to the floor and had to be carried out.

As wine was spilt and swearing continued the set was eventually and acrimoniously aborted, with fluctuating rumours over the number of valium the unconcious blonde had taken. I had watched the whole thing from the front with a good pal who does sound for the band sometimes and we were beginning to really enjoy ourselves.

Next a whole bunch of guys started setting up tons of synths, beatboxes and analogue shit. I tentatively asked one of them if it was all going to stop working after a few minutes and they were going to call everyone cunts and fall over. I can't remember the answer but I got the impression this lot were going to at least take it a bit seriously, and maybe make some music.

As they eventually got started half the band aborted mission having been unsucessful connecting themselves to the dodgy PA whilst two or three synth players made a bit of electro noise for about ten minutes before their sound fucked up too. By now we were getting the impression that this was the whole point of the night, and that punk really wasn't dead after all.

More DJing, and some dancing was followed by an even stranger act. A rather largish camp looking male go go dancer bounced off the back wall of the boat, whilst in front of him what I took to be a fellow with a gold plastic manaquin torso strapped to his front and a balaclava turned out to be a real pair of tits and torso painted gold. Another balaclavad person with a fur tail on his/her head was shouting into a non working microphone. Some noise came from somewhere though I am not sure what or where from.

The mic started working as the person screamed "CUNT! FARKING CUNT!" over and over. This inevitably didn't last. A bit more DJing, the power cut out again and everyone drifted out except the stilletoed girl who was being attended to by ambulance people who were wondering how to get their stretcher up the narrow stairs.

I think it went well. The sort of launch party they should really invite tabloid journalist to write shock stories about.

Thanks to greg for the pictures via flikr
Republished on The Land of Little Eris
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