Voltaire June 30th at Elysium

*swoon* I love Voltaire Pretty much nuff said.

If you tuned into Adzuki Podcast #2: "B is for Bedtime" you may have already heard me talk about this multi-talented individual and present the song "Goodnight Demon Slayer." You may have even seen some of his stop action animation during Super Bowl commercials. Needless to say Voltaire is quite humorous and witty. Before the music, I knew him from the book he wrote entitled What is Goth which is a toungue in cheek pocket guide to the Gothic subculture. Apparently he's got a new book out entitled Paint it Black: A Guide to Gothic Homemaking which I'm sure is a hoot.

Jokes and anecdotes flowed from Voltaire just as readily as the beer tap that night and I just loved the banter he kept up with the crowd during the entire show (by far my favorite story has to do with the one where his young son asked Easter. After explaining who Jesus was and how he rose from the cross, his son went with great enthusiasm "You mean Jesus is a zombie?"). At one point he mentioned that it didn't really feel like a first show in a new city and I had to agree. The crowd treated him as if he was a local artist. Eveyone was completely engaged, sang along to the songs, laughed heartedly and overall seemed to have a blast. I know I did. He also managed to illustrate the unspoken truth that Goths, Sci-fi Connys and RenFaire Freaks are all the same people---just outfitted with different costumes.

Clad in simple black shirt and zippered parachute pants, Voltaire performed favorites such as When You're Evil, The Sexy Data Tango and of course, my personal fave, Goodnight Demon Slayer. The song Coming out for Christmas(just think about it for a sec) was well received.. He didn't have his gypsy backing band (on his CDs you hear violins, cellos, drums, horns, etc.) with him, but performed with just his shiny black acoustic guitar and his slightly show tuney voice instead. Stumming away furiously he did have a couple of lapses in memory regarding lyrics (probably due to laughing so hard and booze) but the crowd was quick to supplant the correct words in a jiffy. Lyrical content itself ranged from silly to sardonic and in one instance flat out gross (yet still funny).

I had the opportunity to meet him in person and I must say he's one of the nicest, most down to earth and unpretentious people I have ever met. He even sold his CDs at a lower price than the other two groups that night. In fact, I was a little shocked to see him manning the mechandise booth to begin with. He happily signed my copy of BooHoo, the newest album and I ntoiced that he took the time to chat with each of his fans that approached him.

We were all suprised to learn at the end of the show that this performance was taped for an upcoming live CD. I can't wait to hear it!

Listen to:
"Sexy Data Tango"
"The Vampire Club"
"God Thinks"

Visit:
Voltaire's Office Website
Voltaire's Myspace
Buy albums from Projekt


(photos above by Cindy Chang)