I have been lucky enough to see Amanda Palmer play the Troubadour earlier this year along with the Dresden Dolls twice (also this year) and she was wonderful during all three performances. However, tonight’s “performance” with the Danger Ensemble has taken my idea of showmanship to a completely higher plane. Part performance art combined with Amanda’s vision for her music, the show is what I dream of having the opportunity to write about. The band consisted of Amanda, Zoe Keating on cello and Lyndon on Violin. As a result, it was a very classical arrangement. The band played a mix of Dresden Dolls material and Amanda’s solo songs while a theatrical group called the Danger Ensemble interpreted some of the songs. By performance art, i don’t mean the stereotypical over the top throwing blood on yourself and interpreting it as the beginning of life type art. no no no. They created poetry through their movements making Amanda’s songs seem grandiose but not in a corny way.

Set List
Intro
Dirge/ Neil Gaiman
stage entrance/ Astronaut
Ampersand
Blake Says
Bad Habit (Dresden Dolls)
I Want You But I Don’t Need You (Dresden Dolls)
Strength Through Music
Guitar Hero
(guitar auction)
Oasis
Coin Operated Boy (Dresden Dolls)
Ask Amanda
Trout Heart Replica (new song)
Have To Drive
Half Jack (Dresden Dolls)
Umbrella (Rhianna cover)
I Google You
Who Killed Amanda Palmer Answers
I Kissed A Girl (w/ special guest Katy Perry and Margaret Cho)
Leeds United

The set began with a dirge was played by Amanda’s band and surprise guest, NEIL GAIMAN (the inner fangirl in me got really excited) came out to read an elegy he wrote about the death of Amanda Palmer. Amanda then made a grand entrance walking through the crowd complete with veil until members of the Danger Ensemble lifted her onto the stage. This set the stage (pun intended) for the show.

Blake Says captured that loneliness and isolation of the song. Another beautiful demonstration of Amanda’s piano playing. Strength Through Music, one of my favorite songs from her solo record makes my heart wrench. The song was composed of Lyndon read the names of the injured victims in the Virginia Tech shooting. Amanda, repeated a simple piano chord drilling into your heart the tragedy of the song. The lip synching performances of Guitar Hero, I Kissed A Girl, and Umbrella was a blast to watch. It injected a different type of playful gaiety in between the otherwise somber songs and riled the crowd up. The audience was also graced with a new piano ballad called “Trout Heart Replica”. Its a song of yearning and about soldiering on despite everything.

With the Dresden Dolls, I never realized what a talent Amanda is on piano/ keyboards. Her solo material reflects not only her ability to pound away like a mad scientist but how classically inspired and cinematic her playing style is. Zoe on cello and Lyndon on violin was brilliant accompanying Amanda because it made her material sound more somber like her record. Particularly impressive was the dueling violin, cello, and piano parts during “Half Jack”.

Thank you Amanda and the Danger Ensemble- your art makes the world a better place. I’m a firm believer that great music not only has the power to break your heart but it also has the ability to heal you. I have never been this moved by any performance- from laughing through “Umbrella” to being shaken to the core by “Ampersand” and tearing up through “Strength Through Music”… This show made me experience the spectrum of emotions. I vehemently recommend catching Amanda’s performances. This show has effectively closed out my year of shows on an apex and I couldn’t be any happier.

Check out the rest of my photos from the night on my Flickr Page