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The audience was very mixed from young and arty to old and grandparents. Yes, that’s right, the parents of one of the Talking Heads actually came to see the show…
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The audience was very mixed from young and arty to old and grandparents. Yes, that’s right, the parents of one of the Talking Heads actually came to see the show…
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Chicks On Speed – with Kid Ginseng, Chris Frantz & Tina Weymouth (Tom Tom Club / Talking Heads) 27/1/06 – het Paard van Troje, Den Haag
Chicks On Speed is a group originally formed by Munich Art Academy students Melissa Logan from New York and Australian Alex Murray-Leslie. Shortly there after German local Kiki Moorse joined them, and now, nearly ten years later this euro-trash art project is still going strong. Artists, designers, videographers, poets and I would add lastly, musicians Chicks On Speed crosses performance art with music making, yielding a unique blend of art-electro.
Song highlights of the show (in no particular order) were, Fashion Rules! In which, “Fashion is for fashion people, it’s hard to be cool if you don’t follow the rules… get out there now and break the rules!” and a great new song called Plastic Surgery. And of course, the Euro trash-electro-chick-rock anthem, We Don’t Play Guitars. Some of my new favourites were also aired, namely 99 Cents and the robotic, hypnotic Wordy Rappinghood. The show had an indisputably terrific vibe that included fluorescent face paint, handmade costumes, black lights and a spectacle of some of the rarest electronic instruments you’ll ever see. The audience was very mixed from young and arty to old and grandparents. Yes, that’s right, the parents of one of the Talking Heads actually came to see the show, I think from France. The elderly couple sat on the balcony for most of the night, throughout The Chicks show and then on through the extremely eclectic DJ set from their offspring that followed.
The vibe was great and the Chicks were great making it well worth the 15 Euro ticket price. There was much dancing, smiling and laughing had by all. During the show The Chicks joked affectionately with the audience. At one point Melissa Logan thanked us and said that it was one of the best shows of their career. It was a kind gesture towards the audience and nod to the organizers of the event and their friends at La La Land Records (the best independent record store in Holland by the way!). The grand finale included a fashion show of student designers. There were video shows by TAG, a Den Haag design studio/gallery throughout the evening. The event opened with Kid Ginseng, American one-man electronic synth-punk band (his debut album is out now on La La Land’s very own record label!).
The Paard is a great venue. However I am now very aware of the fact that it has a fantastic sound system that rarely gets used properly. For some reason nearly all shows I’ve attended in the large hall have sound issues of some sort. This time, the live shows weren’t loud enough. Then by the end of the night, there was an extremely loud electro-dance DJ, who basically forced us to leave and go party at my house around the corner. We still managed to have a great evening, which continued well into the next morning thanks to Chicks On Speed.
Words: Zoe E. Gottehrer
Rating: 7 out of 10