Blownload, Thrill Kill Kult, and Lords of Acid

Only just yesterday, I was near 300 miles from home, at the DNA Lounge in overcast San Francisco, eager to see My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Lords of Acid do a show together. Great combo and it was also the first time in 15 years that the bands have performed together. At $23 per ticket, sounded like a damn good opportunity to me.

One of my favorite perks to going to shows for bands I know, is to be sure to get there for the openings act(s) I don't know. Granted, while some bands have taken me by such wonderful surprise that I immediately bought their CD (I highly recommend Pigmy Love Circus for anyone interested in hearing a heavy rock band that would blend right in to a Texas biker bar--with a dash of humor), and other bands have made me laugh so hard and shake my head that I simply couldn't buy into it (not that I'm a fan of bashing, but Eustachian was not a good choice as an opening act to Skinny Puppy--go listen, you'll see what I mean. Then again, when is it a good time to have a dude cycle between a laptop, drum machine and roaring vocals incessantly? I dunno but it didn't fly over well with most of the crowd). And then there's some bands that come on, and while you may not find yourself to be a fan, you can see how it would work for other people, and in that way appreciate what you get to see.

I happen to be talking about Blownload, a Sacramento-based band that had me laughing and clapping right along. The frontman is a big dude (I'm talkin' 300+, and I'm not being rude, he called himself fat, so I think it's safe to assume that I'm not being harsh) with magenta-colored dreads and a very energetic vibe. When he came out on stage with the band, I was both curious and hesitant whether this was something I'd like or not. Comparison or even explanation is a bit difficult, but I'll try. You know how System of a Down does this thing where they range from sounding all smashy-bashy to sudden breaks where it can be harmonic and then (randomly) it becomes playful and silly? Blownload is by no means the same sound, however, similar in style to what I've described. Good examples would be Keep Sex Evil which is just as it sounds, and has its heavy moments and then a brief 'harmonic' break. The chorus is very fast and I commend the singer for having been able to scream that fast and still sound coherent--props to you, man--and hearing the song live, I had a good time with it. On the more playful side, there was a song they did called Rubber which equally goes from bouncy and jaunty (keyboard sounds included) to roaring and heavy guitars and drums. I appreciate that a metal band (for all intents and purposes I will lump them in that category) can have humor and energy towards the importance of wearing protection when you get wasted and want to have a good time with a cute stranger. Lolz. They were different, and I was glad that I went in listening to them with completely unbiased ears, having never heard of them before. They were a great opening to what became a very fun show. Thanks guys.

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult was up next. The band's frontman, Groovie Mann, came out looking like Bono with long hair and a John Waters' stache (tried to find a picture, but I guess the show's still too new). Anyhow, he and Pepper Somerset (the female vocalist, who's aged wonderfully well over the years) came out and started off with Devil Bunnies, which got everyone dancing and having a good time right-quick. They only played for an hour, but in that hour, they played much of what the crowd seemed to be shouting for, including such classics as The Days of Swine and Roses (my personal favorite), Kooler Than Jesus, and Sex on Wheels. They were having a good time, and encouraged the crowd a lot to rock out, which I always appreciate, since in my show experiences it seems to alleviate a lot of show hype when a crowd is given even a few seconds of attention. If you shut yourself off from the crowd, they just get louder and rowdier and usually complain for more (*coughaljourgensencough*). But interact with them a few times and you're golden. At least that's been my experience. So they totally win, and they were a lot of fun.

We waited for nearly an hour before Lords of Acid showed up. But it was worth the wait, because they played for an hour and a half and I heard every song I wanted to hear, including Scrood Bi U, I Sit on Acid, Pussy, Drink My Honey, Spank My Booty and Voodoo-U. Currently, they have a new female singer, Lacey Conner, who did a damn good job and was freakin' hot, which always helps. Praga Khan, one of the band's founders, was there, twiggy-shaped and bleach-blonde as all get-out, and despite his small stature, he sweat like a pig up on stage and was very energetic and playful. Lots of smiles, so it was plain to see he was having fun. For three or four songs, they brought about a dozen or so girls from the crowd up on stage to dance with them, and I noticed that they didn't discriminate who got on stage, it seemed to be chosen by proximity to the stage, not necessarily by looks, which I thought was very cool of them, so they get kudos for that.

Interesting to note: it's been a while since I've been to a show where the mosh pit was so energetic and well-used. I can't count how many metal shows (where you'd expect the pits to be very voracious) where things would start up and die down quickly and it would only be for maybe 20% of the show's duration. For this show, the crowd was consistently active, helpful when people needed it, and very strong on the body slams, which was a good thing. I managed to get a few bruises, and I had been hoping to. I never considered either Thrill Kill or Acid to be moshable music, but turns out it was, and that rocked my socks pretty damn well. During most of the show, there was a staff member in the pit standing there making sure all went well, which was very considerate, so DNA Lounge staff--you get points for being kickass.

Point in short: The show was awesome.