Orgy climaxes in Des Moines
February 26, 2001
Bodies swirling. The stench of cigarettes, body odor and pot. Shirtless guys. Girls in glitter and fishnet tights. A tangled web of arms and legs. Wild screams. Throbbing beats. Strobe lights. Sound like an orgy?Try an Orgy concert.The goth-glam-rockers made a stop at Toad Holler in Des Moines Friday, where they made the venue and the glammed-up fans inside explode with their electronic-laced take on the loud rock craze.Orgy’s “The Vapor Transmission Tour” is in support of its recently released sophomore album of the same name, which is a follow-up to 1998’s popular “Candyass.”They opened with a song from the new album, “Sucker Face,” and ripped through songs from both albums, including their current singles, “Fiction (Dreams in Digital)” and “Opticon.”With the microphone cord characteristically looped around his neck, frontman Jay Gordon strutted around stage in his iridescent makeup, jerking the mic stand back and forth as if he were driving home the edgy beats his band was pounding out. Even the band’s equipment was keeping with the tradition of excessive glam-rock style. Drummer Bobby Hewitt seemed buried behind his expansive drum set. The lights that shot from the stage were worthy of a much larger venue. Even guitar synthesist Amir Derakh’s custom guitar had blue lights beaming from the frets.Of all of the songs in Orgy’s set, “Stitches,” a smash single from “Candyass,” which Gordon dedicated to “that guy or girl you kinda love but really fucking hate,” was the tightest and elicited the most crowd appreciation. Before the last song, Gordon confessed to the audience, “This is the shit that makes me want to do this every night,” as the mosh pit erupted into a foaming frenzy and crowd surfers took advantage of their last chance to surf. A highlight of the show came during this song, when Orgy tacked a few bars of “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record),” onto the end of “Blue Monday,” before exiting the stage sans encore. Opener Spineshank, although producing a rabidly loud set, lacked anything to set itself apart from the generic prescription that modern loud rock is fatally overdosing on. The only noteworthy thing about Spineshank’s performance was lead singer Johnny Santos’ advice to the audience after pitching his band’s latest album.”And if you can’t afford to buy our CD, you can burn it off the goddamn Internet. You have my blessing,” he said, eliciting a roar of cheers.Tinfed, the first of the three bands to take the stage, was the dark horse of the night. The virtually unknown-to-the-Midwest rockers exposed a hook-laden rock style that leaned toward sticky pop with a hint of electronica bubbling just below the surface — a sound not unlike their tourmates, Orgy. And because they don’t rely solely on power chords and growling vocals, Tinfed, like Orgy, may have the staying power to carry them into the future of loud rock.