Dresden Dolls @ Electric Brixton
Backstory…
My partner has been a fan of the Dresden Dolls and Amanda Palmer since a time before I knew them so when they spotted a gig coming up in London playing at the BA Arc they jumped on tickets as they hadn’t seen the Dresden Dolls in so long, they said they’d take me if they ever performed here again, and it was a seated gig.
I grabbed us a hotel at the Hilton in Kensington just around the corner so it would be quick to get there and get back limiting the amount of walking Min had to do but something in me decided to pay later rather than in advance, giving me the option to cancel if needs be - which was very useful!
Less than a week before the gig an e-mail came through with a change of venue from the seated BA Arc to the standing Electric Brixton - this wasn’t ideal as it was standing! There was no official change at this point but with what was being said in Amanda Palmer’s Patreon chat I jumped on the nearby Premier Inn Brixton - which was fully booked shortly after!
It’s believed that BA Arc pulled out as enough seats hadn’t sold to make it viable for them and AXS or another organiser moved us to Electric Brixton without considering the seating arrangements. Eventually the change was made official by AXS so I managed to cancel the Hilton and had the Premier Inn locked in.
The whole thing wasn’t ideal.
Day of the Gig…
This was my first time visiting Brixton and I have to say it was a great place that I would love to go back to and properly explore. In particular I would like to visit Ugly Dumpling (gluten free dumplings!), Harlem Brewing Company Taproom, HAUS (plants, vinyl, and coffee!) and Palace Vinyl, but also I’d like to have a stroll down Electric Avenue (this song was stuck in my head since the venue change) and check out the market there with some of the street foods. The whole place felt like a vibrant and exciting community with so much to see and do.
We ended up meeting friends we were going to the gig with at The Rattlin’ Bog Irish Pub which was okay, lots of character about the place, a weird smell coming from somewhere and the drink selection wasn’t great for gluten free options, I ended up having an Orchard Thieves cider which tasted more like water.
Min and I went to join the Amanda Palmer Patreons at St. Mathew’s Church Gardens which was such a lovely atmosphere and everyone was so friendly and welcoming. Amanda Palmer soon joined us and she talked to us for a bit before playing us a song. I have to say it was so utterly odd being in this garden in a circle with her while across the road there was a massive line of people queing to get into Electric Brixton to watch her on stage. I felt so honoured.
We finished up then got ourselves ready to head into Electric Six to see the Dresden Dolls.
The Venue…
Electric Six is your typical club with a huge space for standing and a balcony to sit and watch from, however Electric Six has a lot of character to it almost bordering on being a theatre rather than a club. It was a lovely looking venue however really lacked the seating which was a big issue for us.
There were two bars there and I found that the upstairs one was the best of the options as there was rarely anyone buying drinks, however drinks were, as expected, extortionately expensive, but you expect that and the options they had were decent.
The staff were all very friendly and helpful when we had any questions. One of our friends was on the guest list as he had a stool set aside for him, the guy on the door let all four of us in as we were a group which was a fantastic (and rather naughty) surprise which made me feel quite special!
It was a nice place and as far as clubs go, it was a good one that I would go back to… with allocated seating.
The Gig…
So this was my first Dresden Dolls show and it was so very punk cabaret!
Opened by the fantastic Eva von Schnippish it started off with humour, great singing, a lot of comradery. Eva really set the tone for the night.
The Dresden Dolls followed and played a fantastic collection of well known songs with all the theatrics brought to the table by the very talented Brian Viglione who was so much fun to watch and quite captivating! Amanda Palmer performed with such a strong voice which is so distinct, filling the breaks with her honest and authentic banter before strolling into the next song.
I have seen Amanda perform before at The 100 Club which I wrote about before, you can read about that here. I couldn’t help but compare the two and it helped me realise that I do prefer the smaller more intimate settings with a band than I do a crowded gig. Was it enjoyable though? Hell yes! Would I go go to the Dresden Dolls again? Most probably. Would I go to an intimate Amanda Palmer gig with Brian coming in as backing? I’d jump at that chance!
Photos in this entry are taken by myself, Min, or friends.
