Excerpts from Electric Degeneration, Degenerate Press' semi-weekly e-zine, free and ad-free. A full episode contains sections for music reviews, upcoming events, blasphemy, classifieds, and anything else we feel like saying. If you'd like to subscribe just contact us.
You can surf the entire archive.
5/17/1999
EAR PLUGS:
Sunday was the pinnacle of Star Wars hype with two shows by local Star Wars
themed band Grand Moff Tarkin. We headed to The Point just after 7 for the evening
show, but they didn’t open the doors until 8. Walking in, you knew it was
going to be a fun show. The stage was done in Death Star/MST3K style and there
was a merchandise booth set up with a weird mix of Tarkin’s t-shirts and
actual Star Wars merchandise. Two girls in Darth Vader helmets (sans face masks)
and go-go attire worked the booth.
A while later a couple guys in Imperial uniforms cleared the walkway to the
stage and a stormtrooper, two of Vader’s red-masked and robed body guards,
a Death Star gunner and Boba Fett strode through the crowd. They donned instruments
and cranked up a weird version of the Imperial theme as Darth Vader himself
appeared. He welcomed the cheers of the crowd and started into a weird mix of
Star Wars themed songs. The go-go Vaders danced beside the slave Princess Leia
(who’s obviously been working out since her capture by Jabba) and the ressurected
Oola slave girl. Vader ranted between tunes about life in the Empire and the
Death Star before charging into the next song. The music was kind of a hybrid
go-go and hard rock, with Boba’s keyboard dominating the sound. The occaisonal
pyro explosion and shaking women all around added plenty of heat to an already
hot show. You could see the sweat dripping out from under the helmets of the
band and each took a break during one point or another to recover for the next
set. In about an hour the show was over and the characters took off their helmets
to introduce themselves to the cheering crowd.
It was a fun experience, and a little on the surreal side. After years of worshipping
these characters in 2D it was strange to walk among them. And after hours of
trying to avoid the excessive Star Wars hype, it was odd to utterly submerse
myself in it - posters on every wall, merchandise everywhere, t-shirts and sound
bites - utter sensory overload with Star Wars propoganda. And maybe that’s
the point.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, if you’re not watching VH1’s History
of Rock and Roll you’re really missing something. Everything from 1940’s
Big Joe Turner to Kurt Cobain putting a gun in his mouth! They interviewed EVERYbody
and have some great footage.
Take me to Degenerate Press' home page!
There's no place like home... no place like home...
All content on this site is owned by Degenerate Press and cannot be used without our permission. We have lawyers for friends with nothing better to do than cause trouble (no kidding), so play nice. Copyright © 2002, All Rights Reserved