10 - The Michigan aly- Wednesday, June 4, 1997
GWAR, Bunnymen put on bloody good concerts,
By Brian M. Kemp she put it earlier By Philip Son were big-haired Goth types, 30-some-
D'a Writer in the evening, "I Daily Arts Writer things rekindling their younger days
In the category of women in rock, think I am a good Liverpudlian bands are hard to and teens in Bauhaus T-shirts trying to
GWAR's own Slymenstr Hymen, mis- role model understand. The most famous one, the turn back the clock to 1983.
tress of the unplumbed depths, easily because I am up Beatles, broke up in 1970 at arguably After the opening group, Pursuit of
takes the cake as the most powerful, there kicking the height of its career. Paul, Ringo, Happiness, finished its so-so set, the
unrelenting and vulgar of them all. guys' asses, and and George reconvened after almost sounds of tribal chants echoed
Slymenstra proved this to the Detroit I'm not afraid to 30 years to offer "new" material through the hall. The band made its
area last Thursday night as she left no speak my mind."t through their "Anthology" series. entrance and started things off wi
snan unscathed on the stage of St. Slymenstra Another band from Liverpool, "Rescue," a single released 17 yea '
Andrew's. punched, drop- England, reformed recently after an ago. McCulloch looked and sounded
In an interview with The Michigan kicked and even eight-year hiatus - Echo and the sharp. Sergeant and Pattinson were
Daily before GWAR's performance, tore apart mutant Bunnymen. sonically boosted with the help of a
Slymenstra began an interrogation. penguins, Gor- Led by singer Ian McCulloch and rhythm guitarist, keyboard player and
"What are you waking me up from my Gor the 15-foot- guitarist Will Sergeant, Echo and the drummer Michael Lee. Next was
beauty sleep for? What is this all about? t a 1 1 Bunnymen were one of the best bands "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo," one of the
A woman needs her beauty sleep," she Tyrannosaurus, t of the 1980s. From its debut album, group's biggest singles off its last
said, demanding an answer. From this and Techno "Crocodiles," to album.
point on, Slymenstra told it how it was, Destructo, arch- its las eponymous > The next string
and followed through with what she enemy of GWARalbum, the group R V I E of songs read like
said an hour later on stage. Through all this left behind a back Echo and the a greatest-hit
As GWAR took the stage that night, death and catalog whose Bpnm n ac ofg Loe"T
Slymenstra entered the stage with a destruction, kids nquality coulda
,spiked brassiere and five-inch, high- were moshing to match any other Clutch Cargo's, Pontiac "The Killing
heeled boots to match. "I'm showing the beats of "The - band's during that May 22, 1997 Moon" and the
female power. It's just woman and Salaminizer," time. As it was, last song before
beauty and power. Just like when "Crack in the Echo and the Bunnymen split up at the encore, "Lips Like Sugar."
you're sitting there going gwarrr! It Egg," "If I Could the height of a career whose zenith Interspersed among these old hits
just looks powerful. It's not totally Be That" and MARGARET MYERS/Daily was a sold-out show at Radio City were cuts off the new album and they
gross sexuality ... overindulgent, gross "Death Pod," A sold-out Detroit crowd enjoyed some good clean fun with Music Hall in 1988. While Sergeant sounded fantastic. These guys are
sexuality. I don't think, anyways," she while being com- the fine young men and women of GWAR last Thursday kept the band's name and added a new nearly 40 years old and they rocked
said. Indeed, this was the truth as she pletely covered with "GWAR bodily flu- songs "Sammy," Horror of Yig" and singer (Noel Burke), producing one harder than 99 percent of today's no
partook in helping to "kill" the first ids." "Vad the Impaler" as a giant meat insignificant album, McCulloch and younger bands.
human on stage The highlight of grinder was set up, chopping some of trudged on with two solo albums. The The encore started with Echo and
while the band the concert then the audience members to bits. The motorbike death of original drummer the Bunnymen's first single off
played "First Rule REVIE W came as Slymenstra lights went dim and GWAR exited, Pete Defreitas in 1989 symbolically "Evergreen," "Nothing Lasts
Is:' At that point began dancing with only to be brought back on stage by signaled the end for Echo and the Forever." McCulloch was a truly great
the "blood" began GWAR a pair of flaming hundreds of kids chanting the band's Bunnymen. frontman, smoking cigarettes like
to spray the eager batons. She began name. Then a surprising thing happened. there was no tomorrow and winking
crowd below and St. Andrew's Hall, Detroit to blow gigantic This became the encore of all Sergeant and McCulloch reformed in at the crowd. McCulloch was and is
-continued to ful- May 29.1997 fireballs above the encores, as Slymenstra re-entered wear- 1993 under the moniker of the star and centerpiece of the show.
fill the audience's crowd, the heat ing an outfit complete with a boa. She Electrafixion and toured America sup- At one point, a flying cup of water (or
appetite for the next two hours. from which could be felt by all who quietly began to sing the lounge-based porting their album, "Burned." beer) slammed onto the stage, bare
Most of the show centered on watched in amazement. "Don't Need A Man." The blood- Although it was a passable effort with missing him. McCulloch simply fix
Slymenstra and her womanhood, or as GWAR's set continued through the soaked audience just stopped, stared a rougher, harder, grunge-influenced his hair and playfully pointed out the
and listened to Slymenstra and her sound, something was amiss. perpetrator and pulled the trigger of
beautiful crooning. Swaying to the tune Although they pulled out Echo songs his finger.
while removing the boa, she revealed a for encores, they still remained The group finished with a psyche-
skintight reptilian body suit, which Electrafixion. Alas, the three remain- delic and extended version of peren-
made her resemble a snake trying to ing members - McCulloch, Sergeant, nial live favorite, "Do It Clean." Fans
d a n n e rhypnotize its prey. and bassist Les Pattinson - reunited, were hoping that the members would
GWAR finally left the broken and are currently touring America and will come back for "Bring on the Dancing
bloody, yet absolutely content crowd present the public with "Evergreen," Horses," but in an instant, they were
the coolness of ourfashionselections- behind. The band brought to Detroit the first Echo album in more than nine gone. This concert represented a turO
what they promise in their name alone. years, in July. ing back of time and the band effec-
nor the lOW prices. As Slymenstra had said, "It's a frus- The crowd at Clutch Cargo's was a tively was able to show that the '80s
tration word like gwarrr! It's a frus- look into the past, and time has caught weren't all about New Romantics and
trating sound. GWARRR!" up with them. Among the audience New Wave.
So you'll just have to
come see for yourself. * , j & -. n d u iEIk
.
rtg raIna
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