Our thoughts: Geno's (Portland ME)

July 21, 2006

w/Mata Hari & Damien Zygote

Circumstances made it difficult to form a pre-conceived notion about how this show would go in terms of turnout. On one hand it was being promoted by WCYY-FM’s Spinout and dj Mark Curdo had been plugging it on-air. On the other hand there was heavy competition from another show in town (Ocean at the Alehouse). Plus, it’s summer, so a lot of people aren’t around on weekends.

Damien Zygote’s live debut was a fairly anticipated affair, and there were a lot of people there early, most of whom didn’t look familiar, so obviously he has established his own crowd before ever hitting a stage – not an unimpressive feat. Essentially a techno-industrial act, DZ performed with the typically atypical lineup: a bass player, a sequencer, a “dancer” who sat way more than danced, and impressive staging/lighting. I guess their set went down ok considering they had essentially never performed live before, and I’m curious to see how they “develop” over subsequent gigs. Boston’s Mata Hari, on the other side of the coin, were polished and obviously very stage experienced. Personally I could have done without vocalist Ivona’s heavy Gwen Stefani influences and the canned backing vocals, but they still put on a great show.

By the time for our set rolled around our concerns regarding turnout were pretty much put to rest – the crowd was pretty impressive considering the circumstances. And unlike other shows, they didn’t stand and stare – they hooted and hollered. Of course is was a broilfest up in the “dollhouse” (my pet name for the Geno’s stage), and we slightly changed the sequence of the setlist we have been using of late, but it gave the show a “greatest hits” sort of vibe, if that makes any sense. “Deny Yourself” and Serpentarious” sounded particularly brutal, the latter finally living up to it’s tour-de-force potential. Afterwards Runtt said he sweated more that night than he did at the gig he played in the red panda suit back in May.