Amanda Palmer, Live in Concert

A friend and I went to see Amanda Palmer in concert last night. It was an enjoyable evening, but there were plenty of foibles, so I'm going to give a rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly for the edification of anyone who wants to know.

The Good:

Amanda Palmer is an amazing artist who clearly enjoys being onstage, flirting with the audience, and generally being an awesome performer. And the first opening act that started off the show, Vermilion Lies, defied all expectations of opening acts in general by actually being an enjoyable group.

The Bad:

The concert started two hours late, apparently because of the second opening act (Hair Somethingorother) who showed up two hours late for sound check. When it was time for their set, the stage stayed empty for twenty minutes, was suddenly occupied by three not-very-attractive drag queens and a man in a leopard print headband for about three minutes, and then fell suddenly dark and silent. Five minutes later they were out of the building and down the road, having wasted everybody's time.

The Ugly:

Really, Hair Whatever was the main ugly. But second was the sea of cameras that emerged over the crowd every time a new piece started. Seriously people, I want to see the artist, not your screens or flashbulbs.

But back to The Good:

Amanda Palmer, as I've said, was amazing. Creative songwriting, great stage presence, and mad skills at the piano. Not to mention fabulous lyrics to songs like "Ampersand" that sum up a great deal of my experience with heterosexual flirting:

The ghetto boys are catcalling me
As I pull my keys from my pocket
I wonder if this method of courtship has ever been effective
Has any girl in history said "Sure, you seem so nice, let's get it on"
Still, I always shock them when I answer, "Hi, my name's Amanda"

Then there's the fact that she can write a catchy doo-wop style song about rape and abortion that's actually fun to sing along to. Song title is "Oasis" if you want to check it out.

Then there was the opening band. (Alright, technically they were first, but they weren't the ones that brought me to the concert, which is why I'm talking about them second). I had never heard of Vermillion Lies, but they're a sister cabaret duo that gets points for vocabulary and creative instrumentation. Anyone who uses a typewriter as percussion gets points in my book. Ditto for marionettes and multicolored handbells. They had funny songs about heart transplants and global warming. And they sang backup for "Oasis," which worked really well.

So all in all, a good evening. My only real regret was that we had to leave early, while Amanda was still singing, because the concert started so late. The moral of the story, I suppose, is that awesome girl artists should sing together. And random drag queens that can't sing or be on time should be locked out.