GWAR: Lust in Space Tour
October 3, 2009
Revolution Live, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Written by Kate Dingle
A few rules when attending a GWAR show.
Number one: do not wear a white shirt. It doesn’t matter if you have never seen a GWAR show (you know someone who has or you know someone who knows someone who has); you have more than enough information ahead of time to know that your white shirt will end up nearly black by the end of the first song. So, to all of the people (women specifically) who wore white: You did it on purpose. If you need to wear a white shirt to a GWAR show to find a man, you need professional help.
Number two: apparently, only TRUE GWAR fans smoke Black and Milds. I have never seen so many death metal, white people lighting these things up in my life. Seriously, if I were blind and deaf and only had my sense of smell, I would’ve thought I was at a hip hop show or some sort of hippie revival.
Number three: if you are afraid of hairy men in thongs and alien costumes, don’t even bother walking through the front doors. Go to the piano bar down the street, get waited on by some cute college student, and get plastered out of your mind. At least you’ll have a nice view.
GWAR was definitely one of the most interesting shows of the year. People certainly do not go for the music. They go for the theatrics that are accompanied by a lovely mix of blaring guitars and blood curdling screaming. I’m quite sure there were folks there who knew the words to the songs, but they were singing along in the same way that front man Oderus Urungus was. The combination between the crowd and the band made for an inaudible chorus of howling at the moon.
But as I have previously stated, it wasn’t about the music. It was about the stage show. From the first frame of their mockumentary “Behind the Murder”, to every drop of fake blood shed by a slew of characters (including Michael Jackson and Barack Obama), the crowd was their slave. There was so much going that it was difficult for anyone to take their eyes off of what was in front of them. It was a well choreographed set that needed no pyrotechnics or flashy lights.
Everyone should experience GWAR at least once. It will certainly not disappoint you. It’s a fun show and their fans are the most committed group of people I have ever come across; not to mention the nicest. Just remember the three rules of GWAR and you’ll be just fine. Trust me.
Photos by Christina Mendenhall
THE RED CHORD
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