I was literally watching Lightning Bolt play outdoors in Worcester with Martina on my shoulders when somebody told me about the review in the Times.
First came KaraokeCrime, a boisterous one-man spitfire of interactive singalong. Bounding around the crowd, passing off microphones to audience members, he shouted along with club mixes of Madonna, Celine Dion, Three 6 Mafia and more, inspiring a mix of enthusiasm and revulsion.
“Boisterous one-man spitfire” has to be the best appellation any karaoke-er of jock jams could hope for.
And as for “enthusiasm and revulsion” well, that’s karaoke to a tee (though I’d refine the point and propose that the mechanism here is to push enthusiasm beyond its usual limits by using revulsion to break down inhibitions–like how kinky sex practices use something gross or tacky to arouse.)
Then there was the review’s meta point that the opening bands made the show. Again, what more could I possibly have hoped for? What Cheer? has got to be more used to this than I am, but they have got to be psyched too.
All of this, of course, was totally deliberate on Javelin’s part. They wanted it, they did it and it ruled. The show was super, super fun. I can’t wait to play with them again.
One funny note: usually when I get in a major US daily a bunch of people write me. But who knows I’m Karaokecrime? And who would recognize the back of my head (purple shirt, hands up)? Not many people!
