So, as I said before that I would, I went to the Abney Park show in Seattle last night. I had a wonderful time. I would say it was the second-best concert experience I have had so far, and that is saying a lot. I’ve seen FSR perform. Twice. I’ve been to a show with MC Lars, MC Frontalot, Optimus Rhyme, Beefy, and Dust Collector. I’ve seen Ultraklystron freestyle entirely new verses to his own songs. I’ve seen Rai – both rapping and singing; her own songs and covers. I’ve seen MC Gigahertz perform with the Stunt Junkies. These are all class-fucking-acts. It would take them all to beat out the show Abney Park put on last night.
I did miss the having an after-show podcast, though.
I got an early start, as I tend to do, getting downtown about 4 hours before the show, so I could walk about town, checking out the sights, getting some lunch and such. I was in full airship pirate costume, making the jaunt that much more entertaining.
Having taken in the scenery of Seattle, I made my way to the restaurant, where a group of my fellow Steampunk enthusiasts had agreed to meet up for dinner before the show. Never have I before seen such an assemblage of like-minded people engaged in pleasant conversation. It was invigorating. I somehow managed to find a Chinese dish I was able to eat, which was nothing short of a miracle.
What I’m getting at here is: spoons were bent.
We soon made our way over to the venue, which I was pleased to find was the very same venue Northwest Nerdcore was once offered weekly shows in (it didn’t happen because the agent setting it up was fired…I hope not because of us…). I like being in familiar places. I don’t claim to be sane.
The band was out on the dancefloor before the show, mingling with those fans who came to see them, pushing their merchandise, letting people touch their cool hairpieces. I got many compliments on my aviator helmet, and I got Captain Robert’s blessing to use an Abney Park song in the creation of a beat for my upcoming album. I met a few rather nice people, and lounged with them in the provided comfortable seating in the venue.
Finally, the show began.
The band performed their rather lengthy show in 3 distinct sets, having an intermission during which a sleight-of-hand man entertained the writhing, roiling Steampunk crowd, as well as a hilariously contrived encore, during which they played most any request from the audience – whether they knew how to play it or not. They even repeated a performance of “Airship Pirate” when they thought they heard somebody ask for it (for the record, I was shouting “Virus”…I’d never realized how similar the two can sound in a crowded nightclub^^). They played, during their time on the stage, every song they knew – whether or not they wrote it – and every one was performed as though no other song ever before has been, or afterward would be, performed on a stage. When they play a song, you believe it. It was very humbling, to be a performer witnessing such a performance.
Most importantly, though, was a realization I had, as I stood on a platform and looked out upon the massive sea of Steampunk, all dancing in disparate yet complimentary ways, rayguns glowing, bowlers having trouble remaining on heads, on stage a mystifying combination of ballet and The Robot being performed to a lilting tune, equal parts Goth and Waltz. I was not a Nerdcore rapper crossing over to a new musical and social landscape. This was not a foreign place. These people were my people. We are as they. Nerds, geeks, and weirdos to the last. It was like coming home. All that was different was the drapery. This wasn’t a distant relative. This was not even a twin. This Steampunk rock show…it was Nerdcore. And that made me smile.
I am still, about 24 hours later, tired from the excitement of the night, and so I will cut this missive short. But not before saying that many acts are not really worth seeing live. Abney Park is not one of these.
-Tanuki, long live the sea of dancing Steampunk
