Famed for her part in the “Bretchtian cabaret duo” the Dresden Dolls, AMANDA PALMER cut a fierce figure when performing in the dilapidated beauty of Bush Hall, in London. To see such a small figure bang out both rhythm and melody sections on the piano with such knee-quivering vitriol was really something else, with riffs and bashes that would make the likes of Mike Scott and the Waterboys proud. Rag-time punk piano at it’s best.
Palmer is a seriously One Woman Army, sending out wave after wave of manic energy that sounded as though the piano had been beautifully, acrobatically and chaotically hurled out of a window of a high rise buildine, in a shimmer of angsty noise. In your minds eye, you can imagine the piano crashing, in perfect key, ready for the next onslaught.
Forgive this writer’s whimsy, it’s hard not to get carried away when you are confronted with such musical melodrama. And it’s not hard to see why. In addition to the Dresden Dolls, Palmer is well versed in literature, art and the theatre, and this permeates every note that she sings, or drawls, or screams herself into a trance. You really don’t want to take your eyes away for a split second.
Aside from her new material, and some old Dresden Doll classics, onlookers were treated to a very dark version of Madonna’s “Material Girl”. Singing wide-eyed and her head cocked slightly to one side marionette-style, this gave the song a chilling gravitas. Like Death singing at a karaoke.
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The entire performance was a show of split personality. She would go from ferociously aggressive, to frail and vulnerable, all in a split second. And to treat the hoards of devoted fans, she pulled another rabbit out of the hat…
Storming from the stage to the back of the room (where a grand piano had been lurking), followed by an entourage of camera-crews, man servants and everyone else present, she sat down, and gave a modest, down-to-earth yet intensely beautiful encore. The entire crowd plonked themselves down on the floor- and all of a sudden the dilapidated grandeur of Bush Hall was turned into a large, and rather full living room.
It was a real treat, and this writer for one came away on top of the world. Fabulous stuff!
http://myspace.com/whokilledamandapalmer
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