Miss Kitty's Musical Blathering - How I'm constantly reminded of my wild weekend with Voltaire...
I have a tendency to compare my most influential bands to relationships.
Green Day is that first love I'll never forget, no matter how far we drift apart.
Fall Out Boy is the one I had a hot and heavy fling with, but we're still good friends after the break up.
Garbage is the amazing kid from school that I had a crush on, but graduated before I could even say hi.
Kenotia is the one I could never have a crush on, but the one I watched out for whenever some skank came along.
And Butch Walker, of course, is my true love. The one you meet by chance and the way things happen, you end up falling head over heels in love.
But even with my musical steady, there are still the weekends where I forget about him, make up a fake persona and get crazy with the nearest guy.
The last weekend like that? Labor Day Weekend 2008.
The weekend fling?
Voltaire.
If you don't know, Voltaire is the modern Goth king. Everyone at Dragon*Con loves him. Team Linsner even more so. He has hosted the Dawn contest 3 of the past 4 years despite being spanked and felt up by various Dawns. But I digress...
So out of any musical fling I could have had that weekend at Dragon*Con, why the fuck did I choose him?
It actually started the year before after the last Dragon*Con. I had downloaded some of his stuff and had gotten interested. So by the time the next Dragon*Con rolled around, I had made it a point to see him. At least one time. Then I could go on with the rest of my weekend...
By the end of the weekend, I had seen both of his official concerts (three if you count the Dawn performance), owned two of his CDs and had a tombstone that said 'Oh My Goth!' drawn on the back of my purse along with his signature.
But how?! How did one show turn into a weekend long obsession?
Well, there was a various number of reasons. If we want to speak go back to relationship terms, I was feeling a bit ignored by my steady. Butch had been quiet for a little bit and at the time, I was unsure if I'd ever hear Sycamore Meadows before the end of the year (more on that next entry). I do my Dragon*Con thing and all of a sudden, here comes this sarcastic singer with an acoustic guitar who has been proclaimed a fire hazard two years running and threatens to learn how to play 'Freebird' just to piss everyone off. Plus, he pronounced my last name right at the Dawn contest. What can I say? It's hard not to get swept off my feet.
Musically? He's just awesome. He has such a repertoire with the audience that is pretty much like joking around with an old friend. And if his opening song 'Death Death (Devil, Devil, Devil, Devil, Evil, Evil, Evil, Evil Song)' doesn't make you laugh while shouting 'Amen, my goth brother!', then it'll be hard for you to enjoy the rest of the set... Especially when 'Ex-Lover's Lover' rolls around.
So what of the two CDs I bought? One of them was his 2004 album Then And Again and while it is an excellent album, I don't think it fully encapsulates who Voltaire is music-wise. Then And Again is the serious and beautiful side that is safe to play around your conservative parents. No where are the morbidly hilarious songs like 'Cantina' and 'The Vampire Club'.
However, the second album I purchased, the VERY recently pressed To The Bottom of the Sea perfectly covers both sides of Voltaire's back catalogue. There is the serious and beautiful that will make you cry and the morbidly hilarious that will make you cry of laughter.
To The Bottom Of The Sea plays out like a concept album split in two parts (much like Forgive Durden's Razia's Shadow, except not as explicitly structured). The first half of the album tells the tale of the citizens of the fictional nation of Vorutania rising up and overthrowing the corrupt Robber Baron. At first, there is celebration, but the nation is soon torn apart by war. The second half follows a tinker who goes out to sea to find his fortune during this time. If you don't believe me, just buy the album. This is all spelled out in the liner notes.
And honestly, this is the only concept album I know of that features an instrumental belly dancing track, a parody of 'Coin Operated Boy' by The Dresden Dolls, a tragic song about a couple separated by the sea, and a very morbid take on celebrating birthdays.
Yet? It all works perfectly. The story is never lost or muddled on a single song and it does everything that Voltaire's work has been known to. It makes you laugh hysterically, it makes you cry and it makes you think from an alternative perspective.
As for my musical fling? Well, I still think about him obviously. I listen to the music, I follow him on his various networking sites, and I can't deny it with that tombstone on my purse (now with added Graverobber thanks to Terrance Zdunich), but my heart is still with Butch.
However, I am not going to say no whenever Voltaire rolls back into Atlanta. Who says I'm only allowed to love one sarcastic songwriter boy?
Green Day is that first love I'll never forget, no matter how far we drift apart.
Fall Out Boy is the one I had a hot and heavy fling with, but we're still good friends after the break up.
Garbage is the amazing kid from school that I had a crush on, but graduated before I could even say hi.
Kenotia is the one I could never have a crush on, but the one I watched out for whenever some skank came along.
And Butch Walker, of course, is my true love. The one you meet by chance and the way things happen, you end up falling head over heels in love.
But even with my musical steady, there are still the weekends where I forget about him, make up a fake persona and get crazy with the nearest guy.
The last weekend like that? Labor Day Weekend 2008.
The weekend fling?
Voltaire.
If you don't know, Voltaire is the modern Goth king. Everyone at Dragon*Con loves him. Team Linsner even more so. He has hosted the Dawn contest 3 of the past 4 years despite being spanked and felt up by various Dawns. But I digress...
So out of any musical fling I could have had that weekend at Dragon*Con, why the fuck did I choose him?
It actually started the year before after the last Dragon*Con. I had downloaded some of his stuff and had gotten interested. So by the time the next Dragon*Con rolled around, I had made it a point to see him. At least one time. Then I could go on with the rest of my weekend...
By the end of the weekend, I had seen both of his official concerts (three if you count the Dawn performance), owned two of his CDs and had a tombstone that said 'Oh My Goth!' drawn on the back of my purse along with his signature.
But how?! How did one show turn into a weekend long obsession?
Well, there was a various number of reasons. If we want to speak go back to relationship terms, I was feeling a bit ignored by my steady. Butch had been quiet for a little bit and at the time, I was unsure if I'd ever hear Sycamore Meadows before the end of the year (more on that next entry). I do my Dragon*Con thing and all of a sudden, here comes this sarcastic singer with an acoustic guitar who has been proclaimed a fire hazard two years running and threatens to learn how to play 'Freebird' just to piss everyone off. Plus, he pronounced my last name right at the Dawn contest. What can I say? It's hard not to get swept off my feet.
Musically? He's just awesome. He has such a repertoire with the audience that is pretty much like joking around with an old friend. And if his opening song 'Death Death (Devil, Devil, Devil, Devil, Evil, Evil, Evil, Evil Song)' doesn't make you laugh while shouting 'Amen, my goth brother!', then it'll be hard for you to enjoy the rest of the set... Especially when 'Ex-Lover's Lover' rolls around.
So what of the two CDs I bought? One of them was his 2004 album Then And Again and while it is an excellent album, I don't think it fully encapsulates who Voltaire is music-wise. Then And Again is the serious and beautiful side that is safe to play around your conservative parents. No where are the morbidly hilarious songs like 'Cantina' and 'The Vampire Club'.
However, the second album I purchased, the VERY recently pressed To The Bottom of the Sea perfectly covers both sides of Voltaire's back catalogue. There is the serious and beautiful that will make you cry and the morbidly hilarious that will make you cry of laughter.
To The Bottom Of The Sea plays out like a concept album split in two parts (much like Forgive Durden's Razia's Shadow, except not as explicitly structured). The first half of the album tells the tale of the citizens of the fictional nation of Vorutania rising up and overthrowing the corrupt Robber Baron. At first, there is celebration, but the nation is soon torn apart by war. The second half follows a tinker who goes out to sea to find his fortune during this time. If you don't believe me, just buy the album. This is all spelled out in the liner notes.
And honestly, this is the only concept album I know of that features an instrumental belly dancing track, a parody of 'Coin Operated Boy' by The Dresden Dolls, a tragic song about a couple separated by the sea, and a very morbid take on celebrating birthdays.
Yet? It all works perfectly. The story is never lost or muddled on a single song and it does everything that Voltaire's work has been known to. It makes you laugh hysterically, it makes you cry and it makes you think from an alternative perspective.
As for my musical fling? Well, I still think about him obviously. I listen to the music, I follow him on his various networking sites, and I can't deny it with that tombstone on my purse (now with added Graverobber thanks to Terrance Zdunich), but my heart is still with Butch.
However, I am not going to say no whenever Voltaire rolls back into Atlanta. Who says I'm only allowed to love one sarcastic songwriter boy?
Labels: 2008, music review, story, voltaire
posted by Miss Kitty Fantastico @ 4:27 AM
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