[...music...]: the dresden dolls @ le national

2008-01-04

last night, i went to my first show of the year, with roxanne. it was fun!

throughout the evening, amanda of the dresden dolls came on stage to introduce each opening act.

first was die mannequin. wikipedia describes them as 'sleaze rock', which is very appropriate. but the venue was not the best for this type of band; they would have been more fun playing in some small crowded club without a stage, i think. still, the singer did all the requisite rock n roll moves: she spat, drank/spilt a lot of beer, fell off the stage, played in the crowd, pulled two members of the audience to sing backup with her on stage, etc.

next, it was the first time i see an acrobatic act at a concert. a guy with a big ring, doing a lot of spinning/rolling around.

unfortunately, when amanda introduced the final opening act, i did not catch the name. she said she heard their songs on myspace two weeks ago, and was impresssed. when she found out they were from montreal, she invited them to play a song last night.

edit: hurray for internet forums! i asked on stillepost, and it turns out the final opening act was dorian hatchet. the song they played was 'fast runner'.

finally, the dresden dolls came on stage, wearing masks and jackets. thanks to roxanne for taking some pictures.

at first, i thought amanda sounded funny when she sang; it turned out that she had a cold. still, they gave a really good show, very energetic. they started with a pink floyd cover. afterwards, they took off the masks, revealing their usual doll faces. they went through a few of their hit songs. they even did a cover of a french song. at one point, they ditched their usual instruments, and played a couple of songs in the middle of the stage; this was the most fun and entertaining part of the show. they also did one song from amanda's solo album; i guess this was a preview of what it'll sound like, whenever it comes out.

for their proper set, they saved 'half-jack' for last. already, this is my favourite song from their catalogue, and they made it even better. they lead into the song with a long instrumental intro. it got a little post-rock at times, with the contrasting high/low loud/quiet sounds. i loved it! i wish i had a recording of it...

setlist: (thanks to roxanne for some songs i was missing)

in the flesh (pink floyd cover)
girl anachronism
mrs. o
sex changes
coin-operated boy
glass slipper
bad habit
sympathique (pink martini cover)
a night at the roses
mein herr
mandy goes to med school
astronaut (from amanda solo)
half-jack

encore:
amsterdam (jacques brel cover)

~~~

Labels: die mannequin, le national, shows, the dresden dolls

comments:

Oooh, I found out the song that had german in it. It's called "Mein Herr"...not sure who did it. On google says Spice Girls or Liza Minelli. :)
I think that's the only song you're missing in your list.

¶ posted by njosnavelin on 4/1/08 09:04

Also, quite a few of the songs that were playing last night (while waiting around), I discovered, Amanda does covers of.
http://www.deafindieelephants.com/2007/12/12/cover-me-amanda-palmer-the-dresden-dolls/
http://www.automaticjoy.com/#covers

¶ posted by njosnavelin on 4/1/08 09:05

oh wow, i didn't know they did so many covers.

thanks for the links! i'll be listening to a lot of those tracks...

¶ posted by p.w. on 4/1/08 13:48