Derek takes his medication

[illusionofjoy]

Last night was probably the worst night possible to put on a show. The latest Harry Potter book was hitting the shelves at midnight and Tim Burton's take on Charlie & the Chocolate Factory was opening in theatres that evening. Even so, Violent Seduction took place at The Rex Theatre last night. I attended, eschewing the boy wizard (I've only read the first book anyhow - it was good, but I just do not understand the fanaticism that J.K. Rowlings' tomes inspire) and secure in the knowledge that I would be seeing Tim Burton take on Roald Dahl on Sunday with joi_division.

There were four acts that night: derek.cf.pegritz (you know, that guy, oneirophrenia, who did work on the last Illusion of Joy album Division and who will be doing work on The Forever Syndrome; he also has a plethora of his own musical projects going), Descention Rate, Agnes Wired For Sound and Dark Martyr. This was attended by 20-30 people, most of whom hung out in the bar area. Of course, I am not guilt-free in that regard, as I did down five run and cokes last night. I blame evilkellychan for being a bad influence on me.

It was Derek who I had mainly gone to see, as he had mentioned to me that he'd be doing a performance on stage. I had no idea who else would be playing until a couple of days before the event. In any case, Mr. Pegritz proved himself worthy of the label "twisted."

Opening the night, he was clad in scrubs, seated in a wheelchair which was pushed on stage by kaspellsgoddess, dressed as an orderly. She pushed him to the front of the stage, where a microphone and a laptop computer were set up. Lethargically, he asked the audience if we wanted to hear a song; of course we did. From there, the tender piano of "Close To You" by The Carpenters began, with Derek lip-synching. It didn't take long for Karen's sweet little ditty to morph into something unrecognisable and horrifying.

That was how it went for Derek's whole performance. It was real horror show – great performance art. His role was a mental patient somehow thrust into a recording studio in some sort of bizarre experiment. Occassionally, the orderly would come in and wipe the drool from his chin, but otherwise the lunatic was free to assault the audience with his blips, beeps and bangs whilst growling and moaning into the microphone. At the close of his performance, Derek said, "in a rare moment of lucidity, I'd like to remind you that there are CDs for sale..." before being wheeled offstage.

I went back to the bar for the next band, Descention Rate. From what I heard, they weren't worth sitting through. Suffice it to say, their cover of "Pressure" made me feel sorry for Billy Joel.

I went back into the theatre proper for Agnes Wired For Sound. This was the first time I've been able to attend one of their shows, despite being acquainted with their lead vocalist. In any case, they have a good sound and a strong foundation. I think they could go somewhere. I also think that I'd be able to write a better review if I hadn't been on drink #4 of 5 at that point.

Dark Martyr, the final band, didn't impress me at all. The world does not need any more bland speed metal bands that sound like every other bland speed metal band. Enough said.

As stated previously, tomorrow Joi and I plan on seeing Charlie & the Chocolate Factory together. Tonight, depending on how she feels, we may end up going to The Oaks together for Meet The Feebles. If she's not up to it, I'll likely go alone. Either way, I'm hoping to see Evil Kelly Chan and bonamoz there.