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The Birthday Massacre - Corporation, Sheffield - 15th July 2009
Support: Raggedy Angry
Although the ticket clearly states that doors open at seven o’clock, upon entering the Corporation we’re informed that the first of tonight’s three bands isn’t on until eight thirty, due to an art exhibition being held at the Corp earlier in the evening. Why no-one noticed they’d scheduled a gig and an exhibition on the same night, is anyone’s guess. Even worse, the Corp’s Wednesday night School Disco is supposed to kick off at ten o’clock. Later on in the night, a chat with some of the school tie-wearing multitudes, reveals that they were holed up in one of the club’s teeny secondary rooms while the gig was on - something they’re none too pleased about.
Scheduling problems aside, it’s easy to see why the first band were chosen to support The Birthday Massacre, as their gothic pop-rock is exactly the sort of thing the aforementioned Toronto six piece specialise in, just with slightly less synths. Unfortunately, they’re not listed as support on any of The Birthday Massacre’s websites, so I haven’t got the faintest idea who they were, which is a pity as they were actually pretty good. Next time, make sure you put your name out there!
Second act Raggedy Angry are clearly vying for Aiden’s teenybopper goth fan base. Every member is dressed like a different Hot Topic cliché: we have the tie-wearing emo-goth frontman; the cross-dressing Marilyn Manson lookalike guitarist; and the bassist who refuses to put his hood down for the entirety of the set. Still, they make a visual impression, and they clearly know their target market, unleashing a storming cover of ‘This Is Halloween’ that has everyone grinning. The rest of their set can’t live up to that cover, but you suspect this is the one support band everyone will leave the Corp talking about, even if what they’re talking about are the spider web fishnet tights the guitarist was wearing.
Half past ten has come and gone before The Birthday Massacre take to the stage, but any worries about catching the last train home are blasted away by frontwoman Chibbi’s phenomenal onstage presence. Wide-eyed and smirking with demonic glee, she pulls faces, waves at the audience with all the enthusiasm of a child who’s been popping too many E numbers, and generally bounds around with such mad-eyed exuberance, that taking a step back seems like a good idea. She’s fascinating to watch (although I’m glad I’m not stood too close), and The Birthday Massacre have the songs to prevent this from becoming a one-woman show. Their blend of industrial metal with posturing, gothic fairy tale lyrics and heapings of chilling synths, may be a guilty pleasure, but it’s a pleasure nonetheless. ‘Kill The Lights’ is simply spine-tingling, while ‘Walking With Strangers’ is a sassy electro-goth stomp, and The Birthday Massacre’s cover of ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ may be very silly, but it’s also damn good fun, which is a pretty neat summary of tonight’s show.
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The Birthday Massacre - Corporation, Sheffield
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