Genitorturers brought the lewd to Dublin.
Brooklyn based electro goth punk, disco metal outfit Makes My Blood Dance wasted absolutely no time getting the crowd moving at The Grand Social, setting the tone for a night of industrial mayhem.
Led by the energetic EVO, who worked the room from the get-go, the band delivered a lively performance, with Jon Kristian and SpaceyBaby strutting their stuff across the stage while G Rex pounded away behind the drums. Tracks including ‘Time and a Blaze’, ‘Heavy Metal Armour’, ‘Black Summer’ and ‘Communion’ kept the energy flowing throughout their nine song set, which even featured a cover of Macy Gray’s ‘Lately’.
These guys were great, and hopefully it won’t be too long before they return to Irish shores.
Then came the headliners. American industrial veterans Genitorturers exploded onto the stage as part of their Live and Lewd tour, unleashing a barrage of industrial noise, attitude and unapologetic theatrics. It wasn’t long before Gen was waving an oversized dildo in the faces of those lucky, or perhaps unlucky enough to be standing in the front row. I’m fairly sure I came close to taking a smack in the face with the thing myself! LOL.
I could list the songs played, but I’m going to be a tad self indulgent here and simply mention that they played ‘Devil in a Bottle’, my all time favourite Genitorturers track. And, fuck me, it was absolutely brilliant! So from that you can take so was eveverything else they played.
With flag waving gimps, bondage, oversized props and plenty of outrageous stage antics, the show certainly lived up to its Live and Lewd billing. But beneath all the theatrics was some fantastic electro goth and disco metal, alongside some of the finest industrial music on offer.
Unfortunately, one major disappointment was the lighting. In all my years photographing live music, this has to rank among one of the worst I’ve encountered, and I certainly wasn’t alone in that opinion. For a production relying so heavily on props, costumes and additional performers, it was frustrating that so much of the action remained hidden in darkness. More lighting and certain lighting was at times requested by a band member, but their requests seemingly went unanswered.
Dublin was seriously short changed visually. With both bands putting so much emphasis on their image and stage presence, better lighting could have transformed an already brilliant musical evening into a truly spectacular experience.
The music delivered. The theatrics delivered. The lighting? Not so much.
Makes My Blood Dance photos:
Genitorturers photos:
Photos & words – Ian Mc Donnell @mcgigmusic