Dresden Dolls: "Yes, Virginia..."

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 11:30pm

I know, Jimmy Kimmel, ugh.

But the brand new Dresden Dolls cd, "Yes, Virginia," is breathtaking. Totally worth watching Kimmel for. DDs and Dick "Rocky Horror Revival" Cavett is also a guest.

If you don't know who Dresden Dolls are, you should check them out.

ETA it's the Weds night/Thursday AM show. Technically, I guess it's a Thursday show. But it's on tonight.

Updated On: 4/21/06 at 11:30 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 11:33pm

What channel?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 11:36pm

ABC, check your local listings for time and channel in your area.

(They're at Webster Hall Saturday night.)

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 11:38pm

12:05 for New Yorkers, but I guess they'll be on at the end.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 11:43pm

Probably. I've only seen Kimmel's show once. But I heart the Dresden Dolls. Totally theatrical, literate cabaret. I wish the kidz would pay half the attention they pay to American Idol to a couple of real originals like the DDs! I saw them in an opening slot a couple of years ago and after their set they signed things and hugged all the 15 year old skinny femmy gay boys and 17 year old chubby girls who asked for a hug. They make the NICEST stage door star look like Idina running away by comparison.

Saw them in the fall as headliners and they were incredible.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 11:44pm

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 11:45pm

I was going to go to sleep, but I guess I'll stay up. I have a few songs of theirs from iTunes, and one that someone sent me to check out at first, but I've never actually watched them perform.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 12:04am

They have a very dynamic sound, especially considering they have a piano player and a drummer. Who sometimes strums an acoustic guitar.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 12:07am

At first, I thought their music was really weird, but it grew on me. Their lyrics are amazing, too... when they make sense.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 12:16am

"Sex Changes," the first song on the new album, has some lyrics that are Sondheimian in their cleverness. I know Dresden Dolls can seem weird, but it's because they're original. Gloriously original. And to get the whole package you have to see them as they perform, you'll see what I mean.

I imagine they'll be doing the song "Sing" tonight, which is the new single. It's fantastic.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 12:19am

I can't remember which song it is, but there's something that sounds like it could be a song in Cabaret, or something -- not in the plagiarized, cheaped-out sense, but as if it could've been written right into the show.

I have the TV on. I'm going to tape it.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 12:25am

Brechtian cabaret is what they do...! They also have a fairly astounding selection of covers in their repertoire, they tend to only do one or two per show. But their version of Black Sabbath's War Pigs is quite something.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 12:27am

Brechtian? How so?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 12:44am

You'll see.

Although my cable box is acting up so maybe I won't.

F me.

[downtowndiva84]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 12:53am

I can't believe I missed this!!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 1:21am

Namo, did you get to see it?

They were quite good.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 1:55pm

I taped it so I could watch it again.

So what's with her eyebrows? They scare me.

[insomniak]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 2:00pm

I LOVE the Dresden Dolls.

I guess I'll have to brave my fear of my CD burner (which always messes up my computer) and get the CD and upload it. The Dolls are worth a few hours of hair-ripping, file-losing pain, right?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 3:07pm

Semi-related:

The Onion Cellar (Dec. 9-January 13, 2007)
Composed by Amanda Palmer, conceived by Palmer and director Marcus Stern with a text by Jonathan Marc Sherman, the new work features Boston punk cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls.

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/99222.html

[peach]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 3:24pm

Pretty good article and interview (the reporter has them interview each other - it's pretty funny)

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2006/04/21/two_for_the_show/?page=1

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 5:07pm

The eyebrows are part of the look. Very theatrical.

And to think, I'm seeing the live for the first time in 6 months this weekend!

Yay!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 5:11pm

I love that he wears a bowler.

Interviews like that, when they go well, are so good. But they can easily be really stupid. I like this one; they seem to have a cool relationship.

The clips linked are great, too.

ETA -- Namo, did you just say "yay!"?
Do either of them have theatre background?

Updated On: 4/21/06 at 05:11 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 5:19pm

Yes, I did say "yay." I hadn't realized how unlike me that is until you pointed it out. I would go back and edit it out, but the cat's out of the bag now.

Amanda, pre-DDolls, was The 8 Foot Bride in Harvard Square. That's pretty theatrical!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 5:21pm

Keep the yay; I like it! Variation is fun sometimes.

They're so intriguing. I can't explain it, but some of their music has an almost viscerally emotional impact. I'm not at all used to that with "mainstream" (used very loosely) music.

Updated On: 4/21/06 at 05:21 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 5:28pm

I agree. And it's totally true that contemporary music, at least insofar as American Idol has come to decimate it, doesn't elicit much of a response at all, let alone a visceral one.

All I can say about that is, you have to see the Dresden Dolls live. Fan-YAY-tastic.