BUSH AND GORE 2000

8.23.00
Limelight
New York, NY

Walking into the debaucherous den of the Limelight was like stepping into a gothic Disneyworld for today's disenchanted youth. Once inside, I found no escape from the spectacle of barely covered female dancers, dancing their fine asses off to loud rock music in between bands. Needless to say, Limelight's sinister decor presented the perfect setting for the Bush And Gore 2000 tour.

Common themes uniting tonight's bands seemed to be the "fuck all" rock n' roll attitude, a tendency toward to play very heavy music and a conspicuous emphasis on the doom-and-gloom aesthetic. Each band offered a commanding stage presence involving deafening guitars and dynamic song structures, with their differences in singers complimenting the night's line up. The first band I caught, Phoenix, AZ's N17 (AKA November 17), delivered crushing metal riffs hopped up on thumping, electronic beats. N17 leaned on the industrial side while taking the current, twisted metal cues from KORN in their performance and execution. Dreadlocked front man Kraig Marshall screamed and leaped about the stage, pumping up the crowd.

Snake River Conspiracy filled the room with their groove-oriented metal and fans. Confident front woman Tobey, a sort of goth Gwen Stefani, clearly enjoyed herself as she posed and twisted around the stage in her snug black leather halter-top and bondage pants. The tight pack of Tobey devotees up front, covered in "I Love Tobey" stickers, seemed to enjoy the band's pointless cover of the Smiths' "How Soon Is Now" and the mellower numbers, suggesting that all the black clothing is merely a front for a hard pop band. Their stage presence seemed a little contrived, but the band bared its fangs when Tobey broke into her Cradle of Filth-esque scream on the harder songs.

The moment SRC said good-bye, all eyes returned to the scantily clad dancers shakin' their stuff atop various risers throughout the dance floor. The Nine Inch Nails/Marilyn Manson fans lurked in dark corners while bridge and tunnel meatheads surrounded the large blocks, peering up at the dancers while clutching their beers. Although the nudity stayed partial, this was clearly the "bush" side of the "Bush And Gore." After a while two gentlemen (perhaps members of Rorschach Test?) in masks, one Bush, one Gore, took the stage for some profane poking at the presidential candidates, with the help of one shirt-lifting female participant. Although the parody stayed impartial, this was clearly the "Gore" part of "Bush and Gore," the political side to the tour (and I suppose I should mention the "Rock Out Censorship" table in the hallway). After about ten minutes of silliness, Seattle's Rorschach Test took the stage.

Rorschach Test, displaying a strong Ministry influence, weren't very scary or nearly as heavy as their heroes. Dragging the microphone stand around the stage, front man James Baker resembled a drunken combo of Ricky Rachtman and Mickey Rourke. The band's watered-down interpretation of head crushing, techno-powered metal whipped up a small pit near the stage. Band members spent most of their time doubled over their instruments as they banged about for driving, industrial noise.

The ladies were stripping down atop the risers the moment Rorschach Test laid their instruments down, once again turning our heads away from the empty stage. Who wants to look at an empty stage, anyway? More finely toned flesh danceed before us while we waited for the next band. Or, was it the other way around?

The last time I saw Bile was at the film release party for Dee Sneider's "Strangeland." The sound sucked and I didn't think much of what I saw on stage, either. But what I saw tonight at Limelight can only be described as one of the most disturbing bands ever. Jaded rivet heads may scoff, but watching the barely human forms on stage from up on the balcony, I was reminded of my deepest childhood fears.

My eyes could barely make out the horrific, reptilian form hunched over like the Toxic Avenger as it sickeningly lurched around the stage. Violent, thought-provoking images and messages flashed across the television screen behind the monsters as penetrating lasers silhouetted the creatures into our collective unconscious. "I am a reflection of you," front monster Krztoff repeated to terrifying effect.

The deafening, grinding noise and choking fog had finally taken its toll on me in this late hour. I slipped downstairs through the dim, lonely corridors, my footfalls echoing as I climbed the steps out. It was still nighttime. No burst of light or refreshing breeze greeted me. It was like I had escaped a vague yet intense dream where I had faced familiar phantoms in the darkness. Distorted voices resonated through my mind. Walking to the subway station, the daily demons that haunt me weighed heavily upon my mind, and I wondered, "is our everyday reality merely a spectacle?

- Hal Miller

This review was originally featured on Gigmania.com.