A hot and sweaty mess of a gig

Did I just run a marathon?  That's a bit how I felt after the Starfucker non-stop electrofest last night.  Rewinding back about four hours, T and I met up with some of our friends before heading to the gig.  This time it was all-ages, so no ID hassles this time, and our 15 year old friend finally got to come with us this time.  So, with those hipsters that merely came for the drink safely segregated to the top floor, the main floor belonged to us, the true music fans of all ages. Our group agreed that we would camp out centre stage and try to stay together, which proved to be quite difficult, as we shall see.

Whilst waiting for the opening act, we chatted to some cute, but rabid, Starfucker fangirls, who seemed to take to several of us, unfortunately, not the straighter members of our little group.  Even after telling them that T and I were a couple, they thought it was 'cute' but still proceeded to attach themselves to us. >.<  Anyway, the Portland-based opening band, Strength, was surprisingly good with a bit of funk but still firmly rooted in indie sensibility, and they got us up and moving early. T got behind me and put his arms around my waist (actually in my hoody pockets) and we danced in a fairly suggestive way to try to put some distance with our clingy female groupies, which seemed to do the trick. =]

Strength (live 19.10.2010)


[another Strength gig video]


The Austin-based supporting band, the Octopus Project, kept the dance frenzy going with their uptempo, hook-ladened experimental/prog brand of electrofun (with heaps of theremin love).  It was during this set that our group began to separate from undue crowd pressures, which was a bit unexpected as such rabid enthusiasm is usually saved for the main act.  Though fun, it also is quite taxing on one's legs when constantly striving to maintain one's balance whilst dancing.

The Octopus Project (live 19.10.2010)

[another Octo Proj gig video (w/ moar theremin!)   |   and another   |   and finally, the last one]


At about this point, a small head appeared next to me at about mid-chest level.  Now, I am in the habit of letting a shorter girl get in front of me so they can see better, but this time it was a (rather cute) 12-13 year old boy who was, literally, getting smothered behind me.  So, I let him through and put him in front of me to shield him from the worst of the mosh madness, and behind a rather short girl up front so that he could see.  He reminded me of when I was younger and had problems seeing the band properly (whilst trying to avoid getting well smothered), so I felt somewhat protective of this mini-Me and wanted to make sure he had a great experience, which was obvious by his dancing and the look of sheer abandon in his face. =]

So after, a quick stage setup, Starfucker came  out in one of their more common, but brilliant, incarnations, 3/4ths of the band dressed in slinky indiegirl drag (wigs, pearls, fishnet stockings, etc.), except for Josh, who wore a smart blazer and tie (and seductively applied some lipstick halfway through the show).  In true Starfucker fashion, they killed it with the opening song, Biggie Smalls, and proceeded to keep the frenzy going from there with a mix of new songs and old faves.  The sound tonight wasn't quite so scrotally buzzworthy, as it was more the loud-reverberating-in-your-chest-in-place-of-your-heartbeat-type bass.  Finally, T emerged from the turbulent sea of sweaty bodies and slammed right into my backside and held onto me for dear life.  Having his body up against me and holding me again just made the perfect ending for the night, as the kids behind us, having spent most of their energy by now, all just decided dancing was preferable to trying to push to the front with random moshing.  The show ended with all of us in front getting invited onto the stage for the last song.  Apparently, that kid I was watching out for is a friend or family member of Josh, because he looked surprised to see him hop on stage and hugged him affectionately.  Aww, such a sweet ending. =]

Starfucker - Biggie Smalls (opening song - live 19.10.2010)


[another Starfucker video - Isabella of Castile]

So, I was a bit of a sweaty mess, dehydrated, and my legs were a bit wobbly afterwards, but I felt such lovely bliss from the cathartic release.  And having T (and several hundred newly intimate friends) there to enjoy it with me made it even more special.  And, this is why I love the live music experience. <3