gtward@watvlsi.UUCP (Greg Ward) (10/01/86)
Well, it's almost a week since the event happened, and I'm
finally getting around to reviewing it.
The Place: Federation Hall, University of Waterloo
The Date: Wednesday, September 24, 1986
The Event: Skinny Puppy with Severed Heads
(Cost: $6 Can. = $4.50 US)
Summary: Do not miss this show when it comes your way.
Severed Heads opened the show (of course) and I must say
that they were quite a disappointment. These guys put very lit-
tle energy into their show. Furthermore, they appeared to be
doing very little in the way of making music. Most of the sounds
emitting from the speakers seemed to be the direct product of
drum machines, sequencers and tapes.
The members of Severed Heads are three of the nerdiest look-
ing guys I've seen on a stage in a long time. Now, I'm not very
fashion conscious myself, but when you see three guys who look
like they just walked onto the stage directly from attending a
lecture, it just doesn't look right. In fact, there was a bald-
ing guy standing outside the dressing room a while before the
show, with a tag which read Severed Heads hanging from his belt,
who I figured was a wimpy looking roady or manager. He turned
out to be a member of the band. After their show the singer was
wandering around the audience, looking like a spoiled suburbanite
fruitlessly searching for a lay.
After a relatively short break, Skinny Puppy hit the stage
(and the projection screen - more on that later). Nivik Ogre
(sp?) came out covered with a cellophane bag. (Reminded me of the
Breathing video.) Throughout the first song, he feined fighting
to escape from it, finally busting (not bursting) through in time
for the next song. Having escaped, he lit a solitary candle
which burned until he blew it out at the end of the last song.
During the show, Nivik held up various props, such as a
ceramic face and a gas mask (no skull :-( ). With the ceramic
face, Nivik turned his back to the audience and held it above and
in front of his face so that the audience could see it. As we
watched it started to spew fake blood all over him, some of which
squirted backwards onto Fed. Hall's projection screen. I don't
think the management were too impressed. From another prop, he
produced some black, charcoal-like substance, which he proceeded
to smear all over his face and arms (along with the fake blood).
Percussionist cEVIN kEY also put on quite a show. He had an
industrial looking set up, including steel drums (not the Carri-
bean kind), metal pipes, and as well some conventional percussion
instruments. Sure there was a lot of drum machine used
throughout the show to keep the basic rhythm, but unlike with
Severed Heads, it didn't detract from the show. The highlight as
far as cEVIN was concerned was when he took a metal grinder to
the steel drum, sending a shower of sparks out over the stage and
audience. Nivik walked right into this shower.
The highlights of the show, musically, were their 'hits',
including Smothered Hope, Assimilate and Dig It. Also, the last
song they played (with the grinder) was very impressive, although
I didn't recognize it. It was probably from their newest
release, which by the way is not Dig It. Although the single Dig
It was only released towards the end of the summer, about a month
ago they released a new record (EP I believe) called Mind: The
Perpetual Intercourse.
Overall, Severed Heads got pretty monotonous after a few
songs. Even their hit Petrol was pretty lame. On the other
hand, Skinny Puppy put on an amazing show that I won't soon for-
get. And in case you think I've ruined the show by telling you
everything that happens, don't worry, there's a lot of surprises
I didn't mention.
Once again, don't miss this show!
Greg Ward
"This ain't rock 'n roll, this is genocide." - DB