For whatever reason, I have always missed My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult when they have played in Vegas so naturally I was excited to finally catch them this time around - this show was scheduled at the now shuttered Beauty Bar, but was rescued by the Dive Bar and moved to the new venue for the show.
Local duo called Lennon Midnight opened the show, and we have seen this duo numerous times, and always find them interesting and a breath of fresh air. With Lennon Midnight on vocals and Klebert Hong on guitars, this is an industrial group and when they play you can not help but be mesmerized by what your seeing and hearing. Lennon is a excellent industrial singer, and on guitars Klebert is totally captivating with the sounds he plays. Most of the time this duo will get out into the crowd and interact with them as the show goes on, and Dive Bar was the same.
I was thrilled to see that Curse Mackey was on this bill, Curse recently filled in for a sick Peter Murphy in some recent Bauhaus shows, and is also the singer for the industrial band Pigface, and has a solo CD coming out on May 10th titled Instant Exorcism. Curse performed solo with his small table with electronic keys and laptop, and he had just a small light that would shine up and illuminate his face, creating a very dark eerie setting that fit perfectly with his performance. Watching him perform was like the first time I saw Peter Murphy, as my eyes were glued to the stage.
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult took the small stage, and as the lights went down smoke machines started blasting, and soon the entire venue was filled with white smoke. Background music started and and when the lights were turned on the air over the stage began to glow, and as the lights changed color it created the illusion that you were in a much bigger venue. The use of smoke in this small venue at times made the band totally invisible, and you could hardly see the bass player and drummer during the show! With frontman and vocalist Groovie Mann leading the stage, along with Buzz McCoy on keys, Mimi Star on bass and Bradley Bills on drums, TKK's sound is a disco-oriented but still goth influenced sound that you hear in dance clubs. They have some impressive hits - and they played them all on this night! “A Daisy Chain For Satan", "Sex On Wheelz", "Do You Fear" and "Days of Swine and Roses” were favs and the crowd danced and sang the entire night. This was a fun night, and the band really brought it!
Thrill Kill Kult photos from Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos
Curse Mackey photos from Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos
Lennon Midnight photos from Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos