I don't usally review music shows but...

Just back form a great show at the Meridian, and I was floored by the group The Cruxshadows. Am I a dweeb who just doesn’t get out enough? The energy was powerful, a large band, seven people on stage. A very Goth cyberpunk industrial front man: Rogue. Renascent of Trent Reznor from the early days when he was doing little show like this one (I actually met Trent once backstage in 1990 El Paso, I mistook him for a roadie; what the hell do I know, I was just a kid). There are too many beautiful women in this band to describe each of them. A very spunky guitar player, Valerie Gentile, whose energy alone was fun to watch. She bounced all over the stage. The two back up singers were gorgeous platinum blondes, Jessica Lackey and Sarah Kilgore. In great synchronicity. If you didn’t watch them closely you’d likely mistake them for twins. Two violinists David Wood and JoHanna Moresco were playing some very futuristic looking violins. And in the center a keyboardist Jen Jawidiz.
Rogue had great presence. I don’t usually review must groups but Crux shadow takes there stage show to a high level of art. Much more entertaining than most performance artists. Why is it that so many performance artists seem to degenerate into a geek shows?

The music had strong driving rhythms. What I enjoyed most was the cyber punk feeling of the show in both the music and the stage presentation. Even though I know that William Gibson wrote much of his seminal cyberpunk novels listening to Steely Dan and Velvet Undergroud, The Cruxshadows was the kind of music I envisioned when I first read Mona Lisa Overdrive and Neuromancer. Putting aside how pretty the guitarist (Valerie Gentile) looked, the way she jumped around the stage was spell binding. The way she played her guitar makes you want to start practicing. She seemed to be having the most fun in the whole place, and you could see most of the crowd was having a great time. Rogue’s lead voice was wonderfully Goth, full of mystery and emotion. The lyrics danced on the edge of cheese and clichés, but Rogue’s delivery really sold the songs. No disrespect at all I loved this band. I bought two of their cd’s. I hadn’t even gone to Meridian to hear music; my main purpose was to track down lovely photographer (Doll’s Sickness) who I was hoping to make some paintings of.

Haunting violin solos by David Wood and Johanna Moresco. I like violins in modern music. The lyrics to the songs sounded very sincere and well written. Oblivion, paradox called life, hearts immortal. A bit poppy, but with enough edge to make them work. Sustaining keyboard work bridging transitions was enchanting. Cold digital textures: Why do I love that radio static voice that sounds like your about to launch an attack on a deep space battle cruiser. Rogue could have easily been a Panther Modern out of Mona Lisa Overdrive. Crux shadow brings to the stage that slick hot darkwave style and attitude of the very best cyberpunk literature. The back up singers (Jessica Lakey and Sarah Kilgore) had this great blankness of sexy androids. Their pairing and symmetrical dancing elicited this sense of risqué replicants. These back up singers/dancer have such sweet beautiful voices, angelic cyborgs. The female violinist Johanna Moresco was amazing, such big eyes, reminded me of nocturnal lemurs.

Overall the show was visually stunning. Rogue’s spiky hair reminded me of headwork of predatory plumage of a long extinct predator. The band really played to the crowd and you could feel a genuine exchange of energy. One down part of the show was when Rogue mentioned the new single making the billboard charts, not to diminish their accomplishment; well I’m diminishing the charts. I think the measurement of what the masses like is a retarded way of deciding what’s good. I despise mass appeal and abhor the kind of top forty dribble that gets lavished with riches these days. I had a great time; they actually got this old man dancing. The Cruxshadows played one encore and the show end with this great moment where they pulled dancing people from the crowd onto the stage and the band came down to interact with the crowds. I highly recommend catching their live show if they come to your town.