I’m A Man, Not A Disco Ball

Electric Six @ The Temptress (A BOAT!) 8/14/2008
We Were Witchy Witchy White Women / Gay Bar / Down At McDonnelzzzz / Be My Dark Angel / Dance Pattern / Heavy Woman / Improper Dancing / Danger! High Voltage / Future Boys / Rock and Roll Evacuation / Dance Epidemic / The Future Is In The Future / Lenny Kravitz / I Buy The Drugs / Formula 409 / Germans In Mexico // Synthesizer

Believe it or not, but this show was even more rowdy than the one on the same boat last summer. Though things were relatively mellow on the upper deck, the floor was a total madhouse, with nonstop dancing, moshing, and crowd surfing from the beginning until the very end of the set. (Things were kinda wild for the opening act too — Tragedy, a heavy metal tribute to the Bee Gees. Yes, of course they were amazing.) I often feel isolated in my love for the band, but when I see them live, the fans are so passionate and out of control. I don’t know where Electric Six fans come from, but they bring it HARD, and their gigs are as fun as a rock show can get on land or at sea.

Electric Six “The Future Is In The Future” – There’s a lot of desperation in this song, but a bit of salvation too. It starts off with this sort of loose tension — the lyrics are about poverty, failure, and the ticking clock of mortality and/or commercial/sexual viability, but there’s a feeling of resignation in Dick Valentine’s words, and in the groove of the music. As it moves along, it becomes more clear that he just doesn’t care anymore, and so he embraces cheap pleasures: “We’ll karaoke all night long, Macarena til the break of dawn, and drive around til the morning light.” There’s boredom and kitsch, but it’s all okay — the important thing is the connection to other people, and the magic moments with friends and strangers that keep him from feeling isolated, distract him from the past, and keep him focused on what lies ahead.  (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)