mildread

So a major bouquet of black roses and awesomeness to my friend Gabe a.k.a. Hindu Pez and the other headliners at Thursday night's Stepping Out show. hERETICS iN tHE lAB, the Fishnet Mafia Cabaret, and Hindu Pez all presented an evening of kick-ass song and dance for the alternative crowd.

First up was Hindu Pez, who deserves the seal of kick-assness alone for performing despite having been hit by a car a couple days prior.


Despite his impaired mobility, he still delivered a high-energy performance. His music is darkly danceable and pumps with intense beats and noise. His set flowed nicely from one song to the next, arranged in such a way that songs went from slow[er] to fast without getting boring.

Later in the evening, hERETICS iN tHE lAB dominated the stage with their expected brew of pulsating industrial madness. Their light show is always a sight to see. I will say that, having learned from past shows at Steppin' Out, I was glad that I brought earplugs. The sound system ensures that everyone in the club can hear all nuances of the music being played. And that's putting it nicely.

Having heard very little about the Fishnet Mafia Cabaret, I was excited to see something cute, fun, and a little spooky. The local scene is desperately lacking in female talent. Unfortunately, I got the fishnets, alright, but the term 'cabaret' was used very loosely. The girls were obviously aware of their flexibility, but underneath the black-hot-pants-clad spread eagles there was not much else (literally and figuratively). When I think cabaret, I anticipate song, stand-up comedy, and cute, flirty striptease. Their set's musical choices of solely Nine Inch Nails and Portishead was for the most part repetitive. I'd be interested to see if they could step it up a notch, because I think their concept has a lot of potential.

A big thanks to my friends k@t, Gabe, Miko, and Shaun for all of the work and effort they put towards the scene. They all really want to ensure that the alternative crowd can get together and host their own kick-ass events. You guys rock!

As a side note, there was a ridiculous amount of photographers at this show. I'm not sure if hERETICS has an imagery entourage or something, but at one point in the show I counted eight cameras within ten feet of the stage. I'm curious to know where all of the pictures that were taken are going to end up. It makes me a little paranoid imagining how many digital and filmic likenesses of my face and body exist in the world without my knowledge. Not to mention that many had really fancy, expensive looking cameras, making me sad with my little Nikon Point-'N-Shoot. Hope you all got some good photos!


And on that note... pictures!



And for kicks:

Look what you crazy people do to me.