Blonde Redhead @ Metropolis

Metropolis played host to the enigmatic and powerful Blonde Redhead on October 16th. I have to admit that I am not a Blonde Redhead head but the week preceding the show I grabbed some of their old albums and was jonesing for the show by the time Saturday night rolled around. Their sound can be compared to other riot girl acts like Vivian Girls or Ciccone Youth. The opener, Pantha du Prince, warmed the crowd with a bouncy house set riddled with noise-ish samples, lit by strategically-situated flickering light bulbs on stands. The crowd, peppered with super fans, was rearing to go by the time Blonde Redhead took the stage.

The brothers preceded lead singer Kazu Makino on stage and took their places. After a short pause, one of them arrived clad in a short white dress and a sleek white mask which looked like a storm trooper has inhaled a couple of Barbie dolls (pigtails out of the nostrils contributed to this effect). With very few words to the audience, they began their set with a couple of tracks from their album, Penny Sparkle, harbouring a synthier, simpler, and more mellow sound. The mask came off for a few tracks but for the most part Makino chose to sing through a mic under her disguise. With the introduction of the newer, less familiar tracks, the crowd was salivating for some more familiar material, and Blonde Redhead finally gave it to them with tracks like "Dr. Strangelove." They were occasionally joined by one of the members on synth, which was a beautiful addition to their already quite full sound. The band communicated to the audience solely through their lyrics rather than through cliché stage banter. For example, during "Dr. Strangelove", while the lyrics “looking everywhere I see  othing but people” were intoned, yellow lights smoothed over the audience, which made all the lookers-on go nuts.

The stage decor, including a backdrop of lighting umbrellas and some precisely designer lighting, made the feel of the show as if it were a magazine photo shoot, which kept the band behind a lens for the audience. Although they were in close proximity, they felt distant, as if we were watching a music video. Even so, the intimacy of the show was heightened by the emotion inherent in the lyrics and musical content. Their presence was indistinguishable from the music, and the music was album-quality. Their set was chosen from a combination of new tracks and old. The older tracks were mostly from the albums Misery is Butterfly and 23. After finishing their set to the roar of a thundering encore, the band returned to the stage and played an old favourite, "Equus," topped off by a naked screeching cry from Makino, and with a kiss to the audience (sans mask, finally), the gig was up.