This has been a few years coming, BM’s first exposure to Amanda Palmer live.
BM has been a late convert to AP, having dodged The Dresden Dolls at the time as being “some American Goth outfit”, how little did she know…
2013 and the release of ‘Theatre is Evil’ provoked a random BM CD purchase and the rest is history – completely besotted ever since.
So the mere notion (and BM also passed on the book tour last year as BM thought it would be just a book reading) of witnessing her live renderings of recorded material; well, let’s just say there was a spring in the stack heels as the cobbles of Victoria St were reached, around 7.30 last night…
The place was completely rammed, fire limit alert (can’t say that, well just did) and really only room to breathe at times – this was the third UK date of a very brief run around Europe, billed as ‘Piano is Evil’ promotion, doing stuff mainly from TIE, just on said piano. Her baby was in tow, hopefully sleeping blissfully under Reekie stars, and she provoked a discussion regarding how soon to tell the little ones that “we are all gonna die” – hmm, well…
So first up (no billed support despite what it said on the tickets) was her Australian compadre (sorry no name, BM research dept to be sacked but so little info on convential media about anything she does), who played one song on the ukelele, which morphed into a Katy Perry cover, very camp indeed and drew claps from those who could actually move their hands in such a confined space.
Liquid Room was, as AP put it, the most familiar venue of the tour, after a church in Brighton (with an amazing cat cameo during the gig, check it out) and Liverpool Central Library (who booked this tour?) which had the “coolest library people in the world”. Ha!
The audience, pressed up against each other as it was, was reverential, although sporadic waves of giggles broke out as random strangers shared good AP vibes, yeah man really they did!
Looking effervescent and amazingly charismatic, AP was with us from around 7.40pm until well after 10, when the last train (or last feasible train with a 14 year old in tow, he loved it) had to be run for, a pretty full set, although the various guest spots and rambles did detract from her playing more of the hotly desired back catalogue – but it was her perogative and she gave good gig, and then some!
Highlights for BM were: a fab run-through of ‘Not the Killing Type’ on the piano, a cover of ‘Paperback Writer’ sung with guest Whitney along with embarrassing anecdote about Liverpool, and a terrible Scottish accent from AP trying to channel John Knox with a guest poet (whose name BM forgets, sorry, but the spririt was good..)
‘Bed Song’ and the extended (to 12 minutes at least) song about “At least the baby didn’t die” were also highlights and the ‘Vegemite Song’ about AP’s husband was shit-strirringly hilarious.
There were many other highlights too numerous to mention, AP seemed relaxed and attuned to the room. The Patreon was mentioned, and this permanent crowdfunder platform appears to be working very well and allows AP to do what she does, and BM applauds it, whatever gets you exposure Ms Palmer is ok with me.
‘Box of Knives’ was probably the most impassioned rendition of the evening, BM understands that this is a “new” Dresden Dolls number, played on the US summer gigs and here it fused wires, blinded people and seared the air.
BM can’t really find the superlatives for Amanda, she is a total one-off, allowed her indulgences yes but only because of the sheer raw talent, superstardom without rampant commerciality and just the voice, always the voice, and over the 2 hours it is the voice, indescribable but always true, that stays with BM and 14 year old in tow (nothing dodgy, a genuine family member) as we flit back to Glasgae, and on a school night as well – truly magical….