Woodstock, NY, 9/2/23

This was the last of a three-night stand at Colony in Woodstock. I missed the first show, but you can find my write-up of the second one here.

The previous show got off to a bit of a slow start (I’m not saying it’s because they didn’t open with Good Day, but I’m not NOT saying that either) but tonight they lit the afterburners from the first beat and never looked back. High energy, excellent execution, with just the right amount of antics and hijinx. Overall a stellar performance.

It was also a landmark event in Dresden Dolls history. The running joke is that when they hand out the set list to the crew before a show a common response is to just crumple it up with a ‘yeah, whatever’ because the Dolls are notorious for not following the set list. Tonight, however, for reportedly the first time in Dresden Dolls history, they executed the published set list to the letter. In response the crew “graded” the list like homework and gave it back to the band marked up as though by a third-grade teacher. After the show Amanda gifted me this remarkable document, suitable for framing.

As she had last November, Amanda hosted a Patreon brunch at the venue on the Sunday following the shows. At the November shows Brian had taken to drumming on the string of lightbulbs running across the stage, breaking several of them. It had been noted that the lights in question had been removed, and the thought was that this was a permanent modification. But no! At brunch on Sunday the lights were back! So this was definitely a Brian-specific alteration.

The highlight of the brunch - by far - was the presentation of a very special gift to Amanda. Melissa, an avid fan and Campersander, hand-crafted a beautiful ukulele and laser-engraved it with the names of everyone who attended the most recent Campersand. It was stunning and Amanda was deeply touched. Since she had never made a ukulele before Melissa was a little nervous about how it would sound, but Amanda played In My Mind on it and it sounded great!

Annotated Set List:

Good Day - The opener that god intended.

Sex Changes

Gravity

Night Reconnaissance

Bad Habit

Mrs. O

My Alcoholic Friends

After torching through the first seven songs without stopping for breath, Amanda paused to take the temperature of the crowd. I was exhausted from the previous night and told her I didn’t know whether I would make it through the set. Amanda responded, “Oh I am going to fuck you,” and then yelled “Everyone tonight gets fucked!” The crowd erupted into cheers at this, causing Amanda to muse about the nature of Dresden Dolls fandom. “It’s a little bit of a cult in some ways.”

Welcome to the Internet (Bo Burnham cover)

Amanda said they were about to play some brand new songs and asked that they not be recorded, but then said, “Before we play you that newnewnewnew stuff we’re gonna play an old old old old old one. … I am going to play you the very first Dresden Dolls song I ever wrote. I was 15 when I wrote this song.”

Slide

She then told the story of the Director of her high-school musical stopping a rehearsal to yell, “Amanda! You can’t sing!”, which is the source of the line Sing for the teachers who told you that you couldn’t sing in the song Sing. 

Whakanewha (pronounced fuckin-A fa)

Boyfriend in a Coma

Before heading into the brand new material Amanda placed an order with the bar. Manhattan, up, in a small glass, in case you’re wondering.

Mister God - This is Amanda’s new favorite song; she thought it was good … and then Brian ran it through his rigorous criteria in the Test Kitchen and turned it into fire!

Houdini

The band came to the front of the stage for the next song and Amanda used Betsy (stilt-walker extraordinaire) as a footrest.

Mein Herr

Merch Commercial

Ultima Esperanza

Coin-Operated Boy - During this song Brian had some sort of mechanical issue with his kit and eventually gave up, left the stage, and came and stood with us in the crowd. I handed him my phone and he proceeded to stare at it like the kid in the back with the phone who refuses to sing, which is actually a bit of a sore point. Eventually everything was sorted and the band played on.

Half Jack

— —

Girl Anachronism

Sing

Photo Gallery:

Amanda came out over-dressed.

Whole lotta drummin’ goin’ on!

Brian is having a moment.

Welcome to the Internet.

The Dresden Dolls are essentially a hair band.

Mein Herr! (Betsy is the best footrest.)

Brian is a vampire.

The first ever perfectly-executed set list!

Left: Lights removed from Brian’s reach during the show. Right: Lights replaced for Sunday brunch.

Amanda playing a beautiful ukulele hand-crafted by Campersander Melissa. It sounded great!

Colony, Woodstock, NY, 9/1/23

In a virtual repeat of last November, the Dolls did a three-night stand at Colony in Woodstock, followed by a Patreon brunch on Sunday. Unfortunately I was only able to make two of the shows this time around, so this was the first show for me, but the second for the band. The band actually came out a little uncharacteristically stiff, like they were playing from rote memorization rather than actually feeling the songs. But that didn’t last long (2 or 3 songs, tops) and they torched through the rest of the set with verve and glee. Annotated Set List:

Sex Changes

Modern Moonlight

Gravity — During the lyrics Down at work, I'm getting too familiar with the floor Trading in my talents by the mouthful I mimed fellatio by moving my fist next to my mouth and poking my tongue into my cheek. Afterwards Amanda said, “I saw you putting that cock in your mouth, Tom; it was great. IT’S GONNA BE A GOOD NIGHT!”

Bad Habit

At this point the Addams Family theme suddenly appeared, but I honestly don’t remember why.

My Alcoholic Friends

Welcome to the Internet (Bo Burnham cover) — Before the song Brian start tapping on the rim of his drum in an irregular pattern and tapping a cymbal occasionally. Amanda expressed befuddlement but someone in the audience figured out that he was simulating typing. Like you do. On the Internet. (Except computer keyboards don’t ‘ding,’ but whatever.)

Night Reconnaissance

At this point Amanda recounted the story of the first time she was ‘canceled’ in Boston. Apparently she had randomly seen Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte on TV and thought he was hot, so at a show in Boston she proclaimed from stage that she wanted to fuck Andy Pettitte, to which the general response from the crowd was, “That’s not funny.”

Astronaut: A Short History of Nearly Nothing

Mrs. O — Before the song Brian held up his hands to make a circle.

Amanda, confused: “What are you doing?” Brian: “…” Amanda: “O?” Brian: “…” Amanda: “Oh!” The crowd, catching on: “OH!”

Slide — After the song Amanda said that she wrote it when she was 15 and it was the first song she ever wrote that she thought was Good. She nervously and reluctantly played it for one of her teachers and his response was, “You know what’s gonna be amazing, Amanda? When the music of your songs achieves the maturity of your lyrics.” I yelled out “FUCK that guy!” To which Amanda replied, “I know; fuck that guy. It’s a really good song.”

Only 3 Chords — An impromptu composition in response to her high school teacher the entire lyrics of which were:

Music does not have to be complicated to be good You know it’s true Listen to The Ramones: Every song is good and it’s only three chords

Whakanewha (pronounced Fuckin-A Fa)

Boyfriend in a Coma — New(ish) song previously known as Tom’s New Favorite Song. It’s actually a very old song that has been recently resurrected and finished.

Mister God — Brand New Song! This is a great banger of a song that definitely fits in Dresden Dolls canon, but there’s a section that really reminds me of Olly Olly Oxen Free.

Houdini — Another Brand New Song!! This is a slower contemplation of death. Mostly.

Mein Herr (cover from Cabaret; music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb)

Coin-Operated Boy — as has become tradition lately, a little of Metallica’s Enter Sandman snuck in there at some point.

Happy Birthday to Leah someone in the crowd yelled out, “Can we sing Happy Birthday to Leah?” Amanda said, yes, but in a minor key, and then added the lyric “We hope it’s not long before you DIE!” to the end. Then she said, “That’s what you get when you ask the Dresden Dolls to sing you Happy Birthday!”

Good Day — Traditionally the opener, this song was pushed to the end of the set tonight.

War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)

— —

Girl Anachronism

Sing

Photo Gallery:

There were reports that the venue had aggressively enforced a ‘no photo’ policy at the Thursday show (which seemed odd) so I didn’t take many pictures and they were all from a low angle so as to be inconspicuous.

The official set list. It was not followed to the letter.

The Dresden Dolls!

Mein Herr

After the show many in the crowd headed across the street to Amanda’s pop up venue Graveside Variety to see John Coons’ BLEAK!, featuring catchy, upbeat show tunes about how the world is ending and we’re all doomed.

The Social, Orlando, FL, 6/18/23

Before the show I ran into Brian on the street and asked him what the new song (which had been dubbed Tom’s New Favorite Song at last night’s show) was actually called. He said it’s called ‘Boyfriend in a Coma’ and was actually written about 19 years ago but had only recently been arranged as a Dresden Dolls song. It’s based on her then-boyfriend Brendan suddenly collapsing during a load-out after a show, developing Guillain–Barré syndrome, and going into a coma for like 6 months, during which time Amanda hardly left his bedside. You can hear a demo of it here. It will always be Tom’s New Favorite Song to me.

When my nephew was 12 or 13 years old he googled Amanda Palmer to find out why his uncle kept jetting around all over the place to see her. Afterwards, due to the number of pictures that came up of Amanda in various stages of undress, he asked, “Is she a porn star?”

When I told Amanda this story she inscribed a copy of ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ for him: “To Dylan - I am not a porn star. No really. Love, -Amanda.” I gave him the book for his 18th birthday.

He’s now 26, and he lives in Orlando, so I brought him to the show. When I planted him in the front row against the stage I said, “Just so you understand: there are thousands of people all over the world who would kill to be standing where you are right now.” At the time I’m sure there was some eye rolling, but by the end of the evening I think he understood.

Unfortunately, guest bassist Tilley Komorny had come down with COVID in the past 24 hours, so we were not able to fight for our right (to party!). Despite this the band torched through another stellar set, with only minimal property damage.

Annotated Set List:

Good Day (featuring Brian on guitar to start)

Sex Changes

Gravity

Backstabber - Due to a “band miscommunication” they actually started playing different songs. I kinda think they shoulda just gone with it, but they restarted and both played Backstabber.

Modern Moonlight - Once again Brian led the crowd in the backing-vocal part before diving into the song.

My Alcoholic Friends

There was a pause in the set to introduce the band, tape down the piano pedal, and, of course, say GAY!

Rock and Roll Part 2 (aka The Hey Song - Gary Glitter cover) - Brief excerpt with the shout of “Hey!” replaced with “GAY!”

“If you’re looking for a gay band, look no further!”

Boyfriend in a Coma - By way of introduction Amanda said, “I’ve been sitting here for the last few nights thinking ‘I wouldn’t want to break up with me.’ Just warning you: I’m like the goth Taylor Swift. If you go out with me, and we break up in a bad way, you’re fucked. You’re SO fucked! This song is not quite really like that, but it lives in that dimension.”

Merch commercial

Welcome to the Internet (Bo Burnham cover)

Bad Habit

Missed Me

Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover) - During her rampage up and down the bar tonight Amanda actually broke one of the lighting fixtures. “We broke that light, which means we’re gonna have to pay for that light. Buy more merch!”

Delilah (featuring Veronica Swift)

After taking a huge swig of wine straight from the bottle, Amanda said, “The truth is I stopped being as much of a lush when I had a child cause it just didn’t work. I don’t know if anybody has ever tried to have a small child and be hungover, but it’s fucking impossible.”

Whakanewha (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa)

Mrs. O

Twenty Years Ago, Part 2 - Another impromptu composition about a song about climate denialism being more true now than when it was written 20 years ago. Conclusion: That’s fucked up.

They then welcomed to the stage Father Nathan Monk, who told the story of why he left the priesthood. Bottom line: The conservative (read: ignorant, bigoted, and, frankly, unchristian) dictates of his church were incompatible with his progressive world view.

Mandy Goes to Med School

Coin-Operated Boy - At the start of the song instead of singing the lyrics Amanda just sang, “Gay, gaygaygaygaygay” to the tune. Then at the end she changed the line to “Gay and to the point.”

Half Jack

——

War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)

Girl Anachronism - At this point, at the end of the third night in a row, I was exhausted and could barely stand. In a fit of wishful thinking, I actually thought they were going to close with “Sing,” and I would have a nice, calm denouement - I even took out my earplugs. Instead, I got a face full of Girl A. I managed to power through … and then collapsed on the stage.

Photo Gallery:

Dylan’s final few moments of pre-Dresden Dolls innocence (photo by Laurie Steiger)

Merch commercial; I was too enthralled through the first part of the set to take pix

Welcome to the Internet!

Grrrrrr!

Amsterdam

One of those light fixtures will not survive

Delilah

Let’s see how fast this thing can go!

Brian: You know what you did. Amanda: I know tee-hee!

Father Nathan Monk

The many faces of Brian Viglione

Really dude?

I remain convinced that Amanda’s stare can shatter glass

The end!

I’m not the only one who collapsed on the stage afterwards

The Social, Orlando, FL, 6/17/23

Before the show I bumped into Veronica Swift and her lovely mother, Stephanie. I asked whether she was going to come and dance with me in the front row, as she had in Woodstock, but she said she was going to sit with her mom. “I guess Mom trumps Tom,” I replied.

I have never been to a Dresden Dolls show that I would consider “bad.” I’ve never even been to one that I would consider “mediocre.” The band has a long track record of delivering consistent excellence. But let’s face it: they’re not all the same and some are better than others. Tonight was one of those nights when the stars aligned, the crowd was amazing, everything clicked, and the band blew through excellence to arrive in mind-blowing territory.

Not only were the performances incredible, but it was painfully obvious that they were both just having a blast. Nights like this are why music exists.

Annotated Set List:

Good Day (featuring Brian on Guitar to start) Sex Changes

Gravity

Bad Habit

More Vocals in the Wedge (to the tune of Coin-Operated Boy) - an impromptu composition to convey a request to the sound engineer, Dave Hughes, whom, Brian announced, has been working with the band for nearly 20 years.

Backstabber

Modern Moonlight - Before the song Brian trained the crowd to sing backup

Tom’s New Favorite Song - There is a long-standing tradition that whenever the Dresden Dolls play a brand-new song I ask for the title (in order to properly document it) and Amanda gives me some bullshit answer (who can forget the “Snakes on a Plane 3” incident of ‘17?). Tonight’s answer was Tom’s New Favorite Song. From the lyrics I would guess that it’s actually called something like (Love Comes in) Moments Like These, but if they actually call it Tom’s New Favorite Song I’m fine with that. Whatever it’s called it is a total banger and puts to rest any concerns that the new Dresden Dolls album will be nothing but weird, slow, 10-minute-long sad songs, as Amanda has jokingly suggested in the past.

Welcome to the Internet (Bo Burnham cover) - Amanda claimed a kinship with Bo Burnham, declaring him to be “another theater dork from Massachusetts. There’s something in the water in that state,” she opined, “that breeds musical theater sarcasm.”

Mrs. O

Twenty Years Ago - another brief, impromptu composition, the entire lyrics of which were: “It’s sad that a song written about 20 years ago, about climate-change deniers, and Holocaust deniers is still true!” She then claimed that the new record would be nothing but 15 to 20 second TikTok-able commentary segments on their old music.

Missed Me - Brian broke a drumstick early in this one and then proceeded to prance around the stage with his face covered like a cartoon villain holding a pair of drumsticks like a marionette’s control bar. As you do.

My Alcoholic Friends - Apparently this had been removed from the set list but then re-inserted spontaneously because it’s groovy.

Eye of the Tiger (Survivor cover) - brief excerpt for no discernible reason.

(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) (Beastie Boys cover featuring Tilley Komorny on bass, Brian on guitar, and Amanda on drums) - During the song I jumped around so much that my reading glasses flew out of my shirt pocket (tell me you’re getting too old for this shit without telling me you’re getting to old for this shit). After the song they gave Tilley the stage to make an impassioned plea for trans rights. When she stepped to the mic and announced, “I am a trans woman” the crowd erupted in cheers, which visibly moved her. “If you’re here and you’re trans every day that you’re alive is a gift. If you’re an ally please remember that silence is violence.”

Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover featuring Brian on guitar) - Before the song started Amanda warned that any drinks on the bar would go flying, and then proceeded to run around like a maniac.

Delilah (featuring Veronica Swift) - Upon returning to her keyboard Amanda complained, “The piano is all wet!” Causing Veronica to quip, “That’s not the only thing!” IN FRONT OF HER MOTHER!

Amanda decried the general decline of sarcasm and irony since, oh I don’t know, about 2015 or so, and said, “If anybody ever finds out that you like the Dresden Dolls and they say, ‘I don’t get it, like, are they trying to be funny or are they trying to be serious?’ just say … yes!”

Whakanewha (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa) Amanda recounted the story of meeting Brian when she was 24 and he was 21 and said that he was the first person in the world who totally believed in her songwriting.

Brief pause to campaign for abortion rights, which served as a nice segue into …

Mandy Goes to Med School

In honor of Ron DeSantis Amanda said, “I just want to say ‘gay’ over and over again,” and then proceeded to yell “GAY!GAY!GAY!GAY!GAY!” in rapid succession, eventually leading the crowd to chant “Gay! Gay! Gay! Gay!” They then played what was proclaimed to be the gayest Dresden Dolls song …

Coin-Operated Boy - The intro to Enter Sandman by Metallica snuck in there somehow. Determining the relevance of introducing Sandman into a song about favoring mechanical lovers over human ones is left as an exercise to the reader.

War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)

— —

To encourage the band to return to the stage the crowd began chanting, “Gay! Gay!! GAY! GAY!! GAY!! GAY!!! GAY!!!” It worked.

Girl Anachronism

Sing

Photo Gallery:

Brian Viglione: Best drummer in the world!

Welcome to the Internet!

The Dresden Dolls!

Tilley prepares to join the fight

Amanda appears confused by the whole thing

Fight for your right!

Amsterdam

Chaos

Delilah

Sing cuz it’s obvious

The Social, Orlando, FL, 6/16/23

The recent set of shows in Santa Fe started unusually late (doors at 10) because the venue was basically part of an art installation that was open until then. In Orlando this situation was essentially inverted: the venue hosts a club night that BEGINS at 10, and so doors were at 6. With a hard curfew to contend with the Dresden Dolls started promptly at 7, but the early hour did nothing to dampen the energy of the band or the enthusiasm of the crowd.

The band has recently adopted a habit of doing shows in 3-night stands over a weekend, and the first night, with the band well rested, tends to be the tightest and smoothest of the three. This night would seem to fall into that same pattern (time will tell) as it went off without so much as a hiccup. Great performance from the band and great response from the crowd (coincidence? I think not); overall a sterling example of Dresden Dolls magic. Annotated Set List:

Good Day

Sex Changes

Backstabber

Modern Moonlight

My Alcoholic Friends - Just as this song kicked off a woman in the crowd collapsed. The band stopped playing and tour manager Jaron Luksa leapt into decisive action and helped her out.

Welcome to the Internet (Bo Burnham cover) - The band donned John Lennon sunglasses for this one.

Bad Habit - Brian said this was the first song he ever heard Amanda play, on Halloween in 2000. Before that, when she was just starting to play in public, Amanda said she played at an open-mic night at Club Passim in Boston. The rest of the contributions consisted of 20-30 folk songs about going to other places. Amanda played Bad Habit solo on the piano. It did not go well.

Missed Me

Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover) - Since the venue had no balcony Amanda was forced to stand on the bar for this one

(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) (Beastie Boys cover featuring Tilley Komorny on bass, Brian on guitar, and Amanda on drums)

Delilah (featuring Veronica Swift) - I really want a peek inside Veronica’s closet. I’ve never seen her wear the same thing twice and all her outfits are fantastic!

Amanda opined about touring back in the day and the different reception that the band got in different parts of the country and how it all seemed so much more extreme and scarier now. Looking forward to the planned upcoming album and tour she concluded that the only thing to do is to get on stage and be very queer.

Whakenewha (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa)

Mandy Goes to Med School - This one really clicked tonight for some reason. Totally en fuego!

An appropriate time for a brief interlude to campaign to get abortion rights on the ballot, with the full support of Ron DeSantis, I’m sure.

Memory (from Cats; brief excerpt)

Coin-Operated Boy - No INXS mash-up tonight

Half Jack

— —

War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)

Girl Anachronism

Photo Gallery:

Say what now?

Pre-show selfie!

Good Day

Welcome to the Internet

Random Amanda shot

Amsterdam

Preparing to fight

You gotta fight! For your right! To paaaaaaaarty!

Delilah

The Dresden Dolls, ladies and gentlemen

Campaigning to get abortion rights on the ballot

Selfie time!

Red light district

Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM, 5/28/23

First a little background. 

My peers have boats, or cabins in the mountains, or college funds for their kids. I spend a good chunk of my disposable income flying around the country (and sometimes the world) seeing Amanda Palmer / Dresden Dolls shows. My happy place is a 3’x3’ square next to the stage.

During these shows I am transported. Nothing exists except for me and Amanda and Brian and the music. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to people after shows and they complained about someone in the crowd or commented on something that happened off stage and I am oblivious. The music moves through me; it is the closest thing to a religious experience that I will ever have. 

Now I know I get drunk and can be … exuberant. But my (perhaps self-serving) rationalization has always been that this was essentially my version of the Brigade: Come to a Dresden Dolls show and see people on stilts! Living statues! And some guy in the front row losing his fucking mind!

I was a part of the show, a piece of the puzzle. Not an important piece; probably a solid pale blue piece that is part of the sky in the upper left. But I belonged; I fit. No one would look at me and go, “What the fuck is that guy doing here?”

After the recent shows in Woodstock I got an eMail from Team AFP saying that there had been complaints about my behavior. They didn’t say who complained, so I couldn’t make amends to anyone, and they didn’t say what the complaint was, so I couldn’t adjust my behavior accordingly. I jokingly told people I was on double-secret probation, but this masked a general anxiety that I had detracted from a community that I loved. 

And so. Santa Fe. May 28th, 2023. 

Right off the bat - the very first song - Amanda yelled at me for looking at my phone. I was, of course, making notes for this very blog, but whatever. This, in and of itself, was not a problem. It wasn’t even the first time Amanda had admonished me from stage for this very thing. 

And I know why she did it. Her thinking was that she could make a general point about concert etiquette by “attacking” (I did not feel attacked) a safe, known target: me. Normally I take this as the badge of honor that I’m sure is intended, but this night I was already in a defensive posture, felt my behavior was under scrutiny, and that I was being unfairly called out for behavior that was not objectionable. I was not staring at my phone through the entire set; I was making a quick note. 

And to be clear, the interaction with Amanda was in no way the problem. We trade barbs back and forth during shows on the regular and it is quite honestly one of my favorite things. The problem was that because of my insecurity and defensiveness I pushed it a little too far and began to hear murmurings from the crowd around me, and this … broke my brain. 

Suddenly I was no longer a piece that fit anymore. I was a fat old man in a ridiculous outfit making a fool of myself in front of some of the most important people in my life. 

To the extent that I could think my only thought was: Don’t be a distraction. I was so terrified of making it worse that I just … froze. 

Typically I flail around and scream the lyrics in a manner that makes whirling dervishes go, “Whoa tap the brakes, dude.” But I just stood there staring at the amp at the back of the stage, barely mouthing the words. 

I did manage to record the set list and snap a few pix mostly out of pure muscle memory, I think, but for the most part I don’t remember the show at all. 

In the moment I was utterly baffled. I had no idea what was happening. After several days of post-show analysis and soul searching I figured it out: I had a panic attack, the first in my life. And while it was an awful experience, knowing what had happened was very helpful. 

Weirdly, pretty much the only people who had a clue as to what was going on were Brian and Amanda. While taking their bows at the end of the show they both went out of their way to connect with me. Brian jostled my bowler and Amanda kissed me on both cheeks. In the immediate aftermath I was petrified that I was now an outcast, but after figuring out that it was “just” a panic attack these kind gestures from the band reassured me that all was well.

So now what? This is new territory for me. I’ve never had to deal with anxiety before, but I now realize with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight that a lot of things I’ve been thinking and feeling since COVID are related to anxiety. Coming from a generation in which men are supposed to be completely independent and self-reliant the realization that I can be brought low by something as trivial as “feelings” could threaten to shatter my identity and sense of self-worth. But it won’t.

For going on 20 years now I have been immersed in a community that is accepting of all sorts of divergences. I always thought that this was a nice feature, sure, but totally irrelevant to me, personally. I have met so many people who struggle with all sorts of serious mental health challenges on a daily basis, and yet are warm and kind and achieve amazing feats of creativity. All I have to do is look around the crowd at a Dresden Dolls show to see multiple role models of bravery and accomplishment in the face of mental illness. It won’t be easy and I have a lot to work through, but I know it can be done because I have friends who do it all the time.

I am writing this after the first of three shows in Orlando. Before the show I was nervous (anxious, even) about how things would go and whether I could get back in The Zone. But once again I was transported by the music and was my old, exuberant flailing self. And while this doesn’t mean that everything is back to “normal” (whatever the fuck that means) it does give me confidence that the challenges ahead are not insurmountable.

Annotated Set List:

Typically when something notable happens during a show I jot down a quick (SO AS NOT TO BE A DISTRACTION BY LOOKING AT MY PHONE), often cryptic note to jog my memory whilst doing my write up the next day. But, as explained above, I basically have no idea what happened and so these notes (which I amazingly still took) mean nothing to me, so I am including them mostly as written so that we can all be confused together.

Good Day (featuring Brian on guitar to start) - Amanda yelled at me to get off my phone

Sex Changes 

Gravity 

Backstabber

My Alcoholic Friends - Throw glass

Welcome to the Internet (Bo Burnham cover)

Bad Habit

Missed Me

Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover)

Brian’s thumb is falling off. 

The Dresden Dolls do not fuck around. Why the fuck am I doing this? This music is the functional equivalent of rescuing a child from a well.

Astronaut

Mrs. O

Music does something that you can’t explain without listening to music.

Whakenewha (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa)

War Pigs (intro) - Wait, wait I need a moment

War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover) - Start slow

——

Merch commercial

Coin-Operated Boy

Half Jack

——

Girl Anachronism

Photo Gallery:

Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM, 5/27/23

During the day we visited Meow Wolf’s permanent installation House of Eternal Return. I had actually been there for the Grand Opening in 2016 and it was fun to clock the differences. The overall concept and esthetic was the same but a lot of the details were different. One major difference was live actors wandering through the installation in character. Overall a fascinating experience, especially for fans of disorientation and sensory overload. Highly recommended.

Before the doors opened the staff provided a bucket of sidewalk chalk. When we asked what the ground rules were we were told, “Don’t draw on the walls, and we have kids here, so don’t draw anything obscene.” It was almost like they knew about the last time we had sidewalk chalk at an Amanda show. I drew a heart with a lyric from Mrs. O; Nikki drew me!

This was the second of three Dresden Dolls shows at Meow Wolf and overall the energy level was higher than Friday night. While there were more shenanigans between songs the performance was smoother overall. There really is nothing better than the Dresden Dolls hitting on all cylinders. Annotated Set List:

Good Day - (featuring Brian on guitar, initially) The traditional opener.

Sex Changes 

Gravity

My Alcoholic Friends

Welcome to the Internet - (Bo Burnham cover) Tonight’s millennial target was none other than my friend Nikki! When she told Amanda that she was 28 Amanda responded, “Ah! The perfect millennial!” After the song Amanda told Nikki, “You should take a selfie with Tom!” and proceeded to pose for the background of the shot. Unfortunately there was some performance anxiety and the selfie did not turn out quite perfect (no judgement; I suck at selfies). But it’s the thought that counts.

Bad Habit

Mrs. O

Your Whole Life Is a Lie (In Case You Didn’t Know We Are Here to Inform You) - This impromptu composition by Amanda was basically a meditation on the role of art and the need for slow, sad songs. Brian countered that sad songs could also be fast, head-banging rockers. Sensing that the soul of the next Dresden Dolls album was at stake I started vigorously pointing at Brian and nodding. “I hear you, Tom,” Amanda said, so there’s hope.

There then followed … tragic jazz hands (don’t ask).

Missed Me

Amsterdam - Amanda returned to the balcony to dangle out the window for this one. She crowd sourced a beverage but then scolded the fan who handed her something that was not quite beer. Beggars can’t be choosers, my Dear.

Astronaut 

Amanda talked about going to see a lecture on fundamental physics at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, a venue that the Pixies have also played. She said there was something comforting about being able to learn about physics and see the Pixies in the same place (albeit not at the same time).

Whakenewha (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa) - When the song ended the crowd was amazingly quiet, causing Brian to comment, “It’s like a library in here.” Which prompted Amanda to muse about the World’s Saddest Library.

Eye of the Tiger - (Survivor cover) A brief interlude by Brian to lighten the mood. Amanda said that’s what will be playing when you escape the World’s Saddest Library.

Mandy Goes to Med School - seasoned with just a pinch of “Careless Whisper.”

During tonight’s merch commercial Amanda divulged that there were 100 people who bought tickets to Friday’s show but didn’t show up, which seems mind boggling to me (the venue only holds about 500).

War Pigs - (Black Sabbath cover)

Coin-Operated Boy / Never Tear Us Apart Mashup - once again the INXS cover (complete with kazoo solo) took over, during which Brian tried to blow bubbles with very limited success.

Half Jack

——

Girl Anachronism - Tonight’s rendition went off without a hitch. A real mic drop moment.

Photo Gallery:

Inter-dimensional selfie in the House of Eternal Return! Photo by Deanna Aliano #NoFilter

Sidewalk art!

Is that an elephant?

In addition to being the most talented drummer on the planet Brian Viglione is also the most expressive.

The *ahem* perfect millennial selfie by the perfect millennial. Photo by Nikki Stein (don’t blame me!).

Beware, children: if you don’t behave Amanda Palmer is going to eat you!

AMSTERDAM!!

Wait … how many arms does Amanda have??

The Dresden Dolls, ladies and gentlemen!

Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM, 5/26/23

Amanda Palmer returned to Meow Wolf seven years after playing an epic show with Jason Webley for the Grand Opening. This time she had Brian Viglione in tow as the Dresden Dolls opened a 3-night stand at this amazing venue. To get just the merest hint of how unusual this venue is pay attention to the backgrounds in the photos below.

I bumped into Amanda cruising the gathering crowd in her pre-show kimono and when asked what she was doing she replied, “I’m looking for a victim.” “For what?” I asked.

“My affection.”

Alrighty then. I generally just go with stuff like this and it (usually) becomes clear (eventually).

The Meow Wolf exhibit The House of Eternal Return was open until 10:00, and the performance venue is part of the exhibit, so doors for the show were at 10:00 and the show didn’t start until 11:00. This meant that Amanda, who had been wrangling Ash all day, was very tired by the end, but it didn’t seem to impact her performance much, although there was less intra-song banter than usual.

As has become customary of late the band ripped through the first five songs of the set with hardly a pause, and overall the set was tight in spite of some technical difficulties. Brian sang backing harmonies more often than typical and Amanda experimented with some echo reverb on her mic during select sections of several songs with mixed results: in some places it enhanced the ambiance of the song, but in others it was a bit distracting. Overall it was a solid kick-off to this short residency.

Annotated Set List:

Good Day Brian started on guitar before switching to drums, but Amanda crashed and burned on this one almost immediately, forcing them to start over. They finished flawlessly and continued to torch through the set without looking back.

Sex Changes

Gravity

Bad Habit

My Alcoholic Friends This was the first song I noticed Brian singing harmony in places.

Some piano tinkling seemed to tease Missed Me, but just as it seemed to maybe start to morph into something else Brian announced that one of his tom-toms was dying and had maybe 2 more songs in it. Amanda responded that the low G on her keyboard (or her “low G string,” as she called it) was also giving out. They basically shrugged and soldiered on.

Welcome to the Internet (Bo Burnham cover) This song was dedicated and sung to Sam, the 22yo (dubbed Sam the Zygote) who was the victim Amanda had chosen during her pre-show prowl.

Missed Me F’real this time. At one point a stray drumstick flew over Amanda’s head and Brian tried to blame the sound guy, but Amanda wasn’t buying it.

Mrs. O

Delilah (featuring Veronica Swift)

Whakenewha (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa) Right at the start of the song Amanda noticed someone in the audience filming and asked them to stop, but rather than stop the song and speak to them she sang her admonition to the tune of the song, and then started the song over from the top without missing a beat.

War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)

Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover) Amanda continued her tradition of singing this one from the balcony, but it was a little odd in this case because the balcony had windows. Because everything about this venue is a little odd.

Mandy Goes to Med School with just a soupçon of “Careless Whisper” by Wham! as has become tradition.

(commercial to buy merch and, most importantly, join the Dresden Dolls eMail list for info on upcoming shows - a full tour was promised once the new album is done)

Coin-Operated Boy Through some musical alchemy this song transformed into “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS - complete with kazoo solo! - before morphing back.

Half Jack 

——

Girl Anachronism This song turned into a bit of a hot mess as Amanda first mangled the chord progression, and then later the lyrics, resulting in two stops and restarts. My advice would be to just power through. Girl A is not some delicate shrinking violet of a song that needs precision. It is a powerful enough song to cross the finish line with a flat tire, some blown pistons, and flames shooting out the engine. Just go for it!

Sing

Photo Gallery:

The Dresden Dolls take the stage!

Amanda!

Brian!

Delilah!

Amsterdam!

The Wilbur Theatre, Boston, MA, 4/29/23

This was the last show of a three-city mini-tour in the ‘An Evening With’ vein. After a handful of shows with the Dresden Dolls last year Amanda was ready to see if she could still fly solo. It was her home turf (when she stepped onto the stage someone yelled “Welcome home!”; Amanda teared up) and her birthday eve (the crowd spontaneously broke into a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday!) so it promised to be a safe space and a good time. Despite pre-show warnings to be prompt since there was no opener, Svitlana Zavialova (aka Wu Woman), who has become a bit of a fixture at Amanda’s recent shows, took to a stage draped in drop cloths to perform one of her pieces that combine martial arts, dance, and art as she splashes paint onto a canvas in the course of her movements. I find these pieces both captivating and a little intimidating. They give you the impression that when the shit finally hits the fan you are going to want Svitlana to be on your side.

Annotated Set List:

Creep (uke) (Radiohead cover)

Ampersand (piano) After this song a woman in the audience yelled out, “You made me cry!” To which Amanda replied, “Just wait.”

Welcome to the Internet (piano) (Bo Burnham cover) Amanda said that this was a very difficult song to cover, which she knew because she searched the Internet for covers and couldn’t find any.

The Killing Type (piano)

New Zealand (uke) Amanda recounted the story of how this song was written quickly and spontaneously before a show in New Zealand one night when some Kiwis were kvetching about her writing a song about Australia and another about Tasmania (sort of). The line ‘I wish I could stay here and never go home’ is a little ironic given subsequent events.

Hello Aotearoa (uke) This is sort of a sequel to New Zealand and tells the story of being a stranger in a strange land during the pandemic.

Untitled New Song (maybe Unkind?) (piano)

The Winner Takes It All (piano) (Abba cover) Amanda declared this to be the best divorce song ever and explained that she got into Abba because her Mom (who was in attendance) had played them in the car while driving her around as a child.

Drowning in the Sound (piano) Wu Woman performed a martial dance - with sword.

Then there was a pause in the action so Justin could propose to Angie. He said something about wanting her next to him on this ride. He was a little unsteady, but she said yes!

The Ride (piano)

— Intermission —

The painting that Svitlana created at the top of the show was auctioned off.

Astronaut: A Short History of Nearly Nothing (piano)

I Want You, But I Don’t Need You (piano) (Momus cover)

Amanda recounted being on a hike with some Kiwi friends and giving them a bit of a history lesson about the American revolution (as only a native of Lexington could) after Paul Revere had come up somehow and none of the Kiwis knew who he was. She regaled them with the story of some farmers with guns facing off against the British army, and they responded that this gave them some insight into why Americans love guns so much.

Everybody Knows Somebody (uke)

She then told a story about taking Ash to Dick’s Sporting Goods to get some new shoes and he was running around poking into everything and asking questions when suddenly they turned a corner and were confronted by the gun section of Dick’s. She was somewhat taken aback because in New Zealand sporting goods stores don’t have gun sections.

Another Christmas (Storey Littleton on guitar; Amanda on vocals)

Whakenewha (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa) (Amanda on piano; Storey harmonizing)

At this point someone yelled out “Amanda I’m too sad!” prompting her to play the first few bars of Coin-Operated Boy, which was a callback to the There Will Be No Intermission tour.

Machete (piano) Svitlana returned to the stage for another dance, and this time the sword was highly appropriate.

Coin-Operated Boy (piano) This time for real! Amanda continued the broken record part of the song (-go, and I’ll never be alone -go, and I’ll never be alone) for much longer than usual. Then she channeled her inner Steve Rogers by declaring, “I can do this all night!”

——

The encore got off to a chaotic start when a birthday cake appeared (Amanda basically stuck her face in it to take a bite) and the crowd erupted into another not-so-spontaneous rendition of Happy Birthday! I say not-so-spontaneous because there was a gentleman near the stage who was actually conducting the crowd. Amanda revealed that this was none other than Ben Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. She mused that she had done a show with the Boston Pops, but it would probably be more fun to do one with the Phil. Then she mentioned something about Ben’s work with the Youth Philharmonic, and pointed out that Rachel Jayson - rock star, fashionista, and also a youth conductor - was in the audience and they should do something together. Eventually she finally got around to playing …

In My Mind (uke)

After the show Amanda really did introduce Ben Zander to Rachel Jayson - I hope something exciting comes out of that!

I hugged Amanda and told her, “You still got it, kid.” She told me that there is a version of herself that only exists on stage, and it is her favorite version of herself. I think this really comes through in her performances.

Photo Gallery:

For some reason the venue was uncharacteristically strict in their “no photos” policy, so I didn’t get many shots. But I did manage to sneak a couple!

Amanda is a creep! (And a weirdo.)

Costume change!

The Glass House, Pomona, CA, 12/31/22

For nine years, from 2004 to 2012, I spent every NYE with AFP. Since then there’s been only one, in 2017, which was right after her Christmas Eve miscarriage. That night was such a hot mess - both onstage and off - that I didn’t even write it up.

But this year the Dresden Dolls are back and hot off a 3-night stand in Woodstock, so it promised to be a New Year’s Eve to remember!

The motivation behind the show was a little odd. Amanda’s 7yo son Ash was missing his friends in New Zealand, so she was flying him across the globe for “the most expensive play date ever.” She decided to stay over in LA - Brian Viglione’s hometown - to break up the ~20hr travel time from New York to New Zealand. And, if you’re spending time in your bandmate’s hometown why not put on a show?

Before the show, after what was either a very long sound check or a very short rehearsal, Amanda was uncharacteristically nervous. The show had been quickly thrown together at the last minute and since she was only in town for what was essentially a long layover there was little time to prepare or rehearse. Plus, due to the need to wrangle her child onto an airplane the next morning, she would not be drinking this evening (I told her that I would drink enough for both of us (MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!)).

I tried to reassure her by reminding her that spontaneously creating beauty from chaos was kind of her super power. And while she acknowledged that fact she asserted that there had to be SOME level of preparation; you can’t just wing the whole thing. I told her I had confidence that she could pull it off; confidence that turned out to be well-founded.

The venue was less intimate than the one in Woodstock, and not just because it was larger. There was a barricade around the stage that kept the crowd back, the stage was elevated to chest level, and the keyboard and drum kit were set atop two separate risers on top of the stage. This meant that the crowd was much further from the band (in Woodstock I actually handed Brian a drink) but also that Amanda and Brian were further apart and each on their own separate island.

Another issue with the venue was a leaky roof. This happens in SoCal a lot because it rains so infrequently that fixing a leak doesn’t seem urgent. But it was raining tonight leading to a steady drip drip drip of water onto the stage. Their solution was to place a large garbage can on stage to catch the drips. The stage was big enough that this didn’t really impede things, but it was deemed gauche and so Brian declared that they could only leave the garbage can onstage if they had an Oscar the Grouch puppet to go with it. So they put a towel down under the drip and taped it down with gaffer’s tape.

But what the show lacked in intimacy it made up in energy. With multiple special guests, confetti bombs at midnight, and a sober Amanda this show rivaled any NYE show from years past and was a wonderful way to ring in the new year despite Amanda’s pre-show jitters.

Annotated Set List:

Good Day

Sex Changes

Gravity

Backstabber

Modern Moonlight

My Alcoholic Friends 

Missed Me Amanda replaced the line “You must want to fuck me” with “You must want to cast me” in a nod to the Harvey Weinstein episode, and LA in general. For some reason Brian kept talking into a banana. This was never explained.

Astronaut

Brian recounted a tale from the early days of the band. One of their first shows in LA was at The Viper Room - a pay-to-play venue. Avril Lavigne was there and admired Amanda’s (then painted-on) eyebrows.

Then they announced that the new Dresden Dolls album will be recorded in LA!

Whakenewha (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa)

Delilah (featuring Veronica Swift)

Another Christmas New song!

Ultima Esperanza

Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover) Amanda continued the tradition from Woodstock of singing this from the balcony.

Mandy Goes to Med School Once again a little Careless Whisper managed to sneak in there.

Amanda came to the front of the stage to stand on the sodden towel. With drips hitting her head she declared it to be like the welcome mat to hell.

The Gardener

Half Jack 

Amanda took an impromptu poll via raised hands to gauge what sort of year 2022 had been for the crowd. The general consensus was that it had been a shitty-to-mediocre year.

Coin-operated Boy

War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)

Just before midnight Amanda adopted a ritual that Chris Wells had used at the show at the Old Dutch Church in August: leading the crowd in a group primal scream. It was very cathartic.

New Year’s Day (U2 cover) The band were joined on stage by the inimitable Jherek Bischoff on bass, Veronica Swift on trumpet(!), and Adam Silvestri (aka Radiator King) on guitar for the final 3 songs of the set.

Girl Anachronism

(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!) (Beastie Boys cover)

——

Sing A massive assemblage (including Veronica Swift’s dog) took the stage for the finale.

Photo Gallery:

Ready to party! (Photo by Cam Horn)

Amanda does not appear to be the least bit nervous.

Ladies and gentlemen: The Dresden Dolls!

Delilah!

Is that Amanda up there?

The Welcome Mat to hell.

Shrouded in mist and mystery.

Preparation for …

… THE SCREAM!!!! (2nd photo by Michelle Shiers)

A toast!

MIDNIGHT!!!

Rock god Jherek Bischoff joins the fray for New Year’s Day!

Veronica Swift playing trumpet is a whole vibe.

Full band!

Colony, Woodstock, NY, 11/12/22

We entered the venue and found a “television” on the stage tuned to AshyTV (aka Amanda’s 7yo son Ash in a couple of cardboard boxes). Amanda had poked her head out just before doors opened to warn us that this was happening. My friends Fuzzy and Mo were the first in the door and did most of the interacting with him.

There were several programs available on AshyTV, each with its own script. At one point Ash looked at his script and said, “I’m not doing this one. It’s too embarrassing.” He briefly showed us the script which was basically a piece of paper completely filled with “poop poop poop poop poop …” written in childish scrawl. When we selected the Weather Channel he said, “Today it will be sunny … or cloudy.” After a pregnant pause he admitted, “I don’t really know.” To which we replied, “Oh! So you ARE a real weatherman!”

At one point there was some discussion about whether some money should be inserted into the slot in the “television,” you know, to keep AshyTV up and running. At first Ash was very hesitant to ask for money (taking after his Uncle Jason, no doubt), but after some gentle coaxing from Fuzzy he warmed to the idea.

“So you would like some money?” Fuzzy asked.

“Yes.”

At this Fuzzy instantly turned around and yelled, “Tom!” Because I am a wallet with legs. Apparently. I gave him a dollar.

After leaving the stage Ash dispatched his minion (aka Krys Fox) to deliver a signed, handwritten note to Fuzzy. All of this reportedly caused him to strut around declaring that since he had A) been on TV, B) gotten paid, and C) handed out an autograph he was now officially rich and famous. Definitely a tough act to follow.

On closing night it is almost impossible not to sit and reflect on the entire stint of shows, so here is my high-level analysis.

Thursday night was by far the most polished of the three. The band was fresh, energetic, and well-rehearsed. They torched through their set with nary a hiccup and clearly enjoyed themselves. This is all well and good for Professional Musicians, but (let’s be honest) is not necessarily what we’ve come to expect from The Dresden Dolls.

Friday night they were more tired, but powered through. But you could tell that the edges were starting to fray a bit and they were losing a bit of the virtuosic control they exhibited on Thursday. This all came to a head with the collapse and epic recovery during Sing (which was well-timed, by the way, considering that this was the last song of the night). I think when they lost control they found themselves. Forced to improvise on the spot and create magic out of mayhem, they remembered Oh yeah! This is what we do! This is who we are!

And then came Saturday.

On Saturday the band was exhausted and all out of fucks. But they were also emboldened and fearless. Let chaos reign and we will make it our bitch. THIS was the Dresden Dolls of old. THIS was pandemonium turned into art. THIS was the only place in the universe that I wanted to be.

Overall I would say that Saturday night was the best night by far. However, the best moment of all 3 shows was the acoustic Sing at the end of Friday night.

Some Highlights:

Svitlana Zavialova (aka Wu Woman) performed another mesmerizing dance of martial movements and created another spontaneous painting. What a joy to watch!

Just before Mandy Goes to Med School, Manta conveyed to Amanda the breaking news that the Nevada Senate race had been called, securing control of the Senate for the Democrats. There was much rejoicing (and oh so relevant to the topic of the song).

You would have thought that Brian had learned his lesson after breaking a lightbulb last night. Tonight he broke two. A shard from the first one hit me on the cheek less than a centimeter below my eye. It’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.

After the show last night we were talking to Manta and he told us that they were going to make a video of him playing on Fight for Your Right tonight to show to his son. So when he hit the stage tonight we started chanting MANTA! MANTA! MANTA! so his son would know he’s a rock star. For the first half of the set I was standing right next to rock photographer extraordinaire Krys Fox, which meant I had to temper my traditional drunken flailing somewhat so as not to interfere with his sight lines. But in the second half - after appearing on stage for Delilah - the lovely and talented Veronica Swift appeared beside me. We bonded instantly and spent the rest of the show bopping and dancing and singing along at the top of our lungs. So. Much. Joy.

The Aftermath:

Sunday morning I was sitting, collecting my thoughts and assessing my state. I decided that these shows were the psychic equivalent of a Rolfing massage. I felt completely worked over, but also fully at peace and oddly content. I realized that there had been a huge Dresden-Dolls-shaped hole in my soul for the past five years.

But that will apparently not be a problem anymore! At the Patreon brunch Amanda announced that soon (6mos to a year) The Dresden Dolls would be her full-time job(!). This will entail some changes to the Patreon. She said The Dresden Dolls are the visible mushroom above a huge subterranean mycelium support network of staff and crew and venues and fans that is invisible to the casual observer but critical to the band being able to do what it does. The Patreon will be woven into this network to help ensure that the band can focus more on art and less on business. The full contours of this change have yet to be defined but I have full faith that it will be amazing!

Annotated Set List:

Good Day (Brian on guitar then drums)

Sex Changes

Gravity

Bad Habit

Backstabber The first pause in the set came earlier tonight than in previous nights driven by the fact that Brian didn’t have the set list. 

Modern Moonlight There was some initial confusion over whether to solicit audience participation and what key they were in. Amanda decided to punt the plan and press on regardless, but the audience joined in nonetheless.

My Alcoholic Friends toward the end of the song Amanda sloppily took a shot of something (provided by Manta) but ended up spitting most of it out over the crowd. As you do.

Missed Me This was the most fun I’ve seen them have with this song. It all started innocently enough with Amanda screwing up the lyrics right off the bat (as is tradition). About halfway through I started to notice a lot of small shards of wood bouncing around on Brian’s drums when all of a sudden he put his drumsticks down, picked up the bass, and started playing it, leaving Amanda befuddled. Then he curled up in a ball on the stage behind the drum set prompting Amanda to announce “Brian has left the band!” Eventually he bounced up and retook his seat, so Amanda yelled, “Brian has returned!” But after a few furtive drumbeats he stood up and walked off the stage, so Amanda repeated “Brian has left the band!” She clearly had no idea what he was doing but was willing to let things play out to see where it went. When they had finally reset and seemed ready to continue Amanda had forgotten where she was in the song. She started rapidly muttering the lyrics under her breath and when she got to “If you miss me, mister, why do you keep leaving?” she yelled out, “OH I GET IT: HE KEEPS LEAVING!!” They did finish the song. Eventually. 

Mrs. O

Astronaut

Delilah (featuring Veronica Swift) Brian gave Veronica a bit more detailed introduction tonight. She comes from a family of jazz / bebop artists and has been a Dresden Dolls fan since she was 12. She put out an amazing album called This Bitter Earth that features a cover of Sing, which is how Brian became aware of her. 

The Gardener (Brian on bass and drums)

Whakenewha (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa) Amanda said that she had written 2 albums of Dresden Dolls songs while in New Zealand, but while she might use a couple of them most of them were going in the trash because she’s not the same person anymore.

Ultima Esperanza

(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!) (Beastie Boys cover) Manta on base, Amanda on drums, Brian on electric guitar. 

Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover) Amanda singing from the balcony, Brian on guitar from the stage. 

Mandy Goes to Med School Amanda called this the jazziest song about abortion and proclaimed that America needs more jazz songs about abortion! Somehow an unexpected cover of Careless Whisper by George Michael spontaneously emerged towards the end of the song, but honestly there’s a nonzero chance of that happening any time Amanda sings. 

Coin-Operated Boy THIS IS NOT A SONG ABOUT A VIBRATOR.

War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)

Half Jack Both of their dads were in the audience tonight and this was not the first time that had happened. The first time, many years ago, Brian’s dad was enthusiastically requesting Half Jack but was told that Amanda couldn’t play it in front of her dad. Now she can. There is no wound that cannot be healed.

Girl Anachronism Amanda asked, “Who here did not have a complicated childhood?” When I raised my hand Amanda yelled at me, “FUCK YOU TOM YOU HAD A COMPLICATED CHILDHOOD!” I replied, “No, but I’ve had a complicated adulthood!” To which Amanda sniffed, “We’ll talk about it later.”

——

Truce Brian introduced a young drumming protégé of his named Dylan, who was in the audience, and then ceremoniously presented him with a fractured mallet attached to a drumstick with gaffer’s tape. Brian had shattered the mallet at a show at the Paradise in Boston in 2017 and had to MacGuyver a solution to finish the show.

Sing A motley collection of crew, friends, dads, and colleagues filed onto stage behind the band to join in on this one, as befits closing night.

Photo Gallery:

AshyTV is on the air! (2nd & 3rd photos by Moran Kerpick-Isaacs)

There is a villain on the loose. He sent this message. -Ash

Official set list

Good Day. Pretty much the only song they play fully dressed.

Whatever else you want to say about The Dresden Dolls, they certainly have expressive faces!

Amanda: I am displeased.

Brian: Whattaya want from me??

If anything Veronica Swift was even better on Delilah tonight.

Amanda looking like a punk cabaret Statue of Liberty.

The Gardener’s coming to collect.

MANTA! MANTA! MANTA! MANTA!

Fight for your right!

Amsterdam!

Always in contact, constant communication, each feeding off the other.

All and sundry (both dads!) on stage for Sing; an epic finish to an epic show.

The author in his natural habitat. (Photo by Hayley Rosenblum.)

My partner in crime, Veronica Swift. (Photo by Krys Fox.)

Family portrait! (Photo by Krys Fox.)

Amanda sings In My Mind at Sunday brunch.

Colony, Woodstock, NY, 11/11/22

This was the second of a 3-night stand at Colony. For my write-up of the first night covering the import of this event in the grander scheme of things go here. The band took to the stage seemingly none the worse for wear after the exhausting set last night. And, as before, they torched through the first seven songs in the set without pause.

But then things started to go a little off the rails, particularly for Brian.

At one point he toppled to the ground, taking his snare drum with him as a stage gag, but he apparently cut his hand in the process because when Amanda took to the drum set later in the evening there was blood all over them. This may have contributed to the fact that an unusual number of drumsticks flew out of his hands over the course of the show. Then he was experimenting with playing the space, hitting overheard pipes and the floor, etc. with his drum sticks. There were some lightbulbs running across the stage over his head and while he was drumming on the bar supporting them he hit and broke one sending a cascade of glass shards over him and into the crowd. And finally, during the closer (Sing) the pedal to his bass drum just broke mid-song.

After a brief pause during which it was determined that the pedal was irreparable, he and Amanda went to the front of the stage and they performed the song accompanied by unamplified acoustic guitar and the crowd. It was magical.

This, in a nutshell, is what they do: they take broken things and unanticipated chaos and mold them into things of beauty. To watch it happen live on stage in real time was a pleasure and a privilege.

Annotated Set List:

Good Day Brian opened on guitar and then switched to drums.

Sex Changes

Gravity

Backstabber

Modern Moonlight

My Alcoholic Friends

Missed Me

Astronaut

Delilah (featuring Veronica Swift)

The Gardener (featuring Brian on bass and drums simultaneously)

Whakenewha In the intro to this new song (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa and named after a national park in New Zealand) Amanda talked about being trapped in NZ during COVID. When the crowd reacted with cheers she said, no, New Zealand is great, but that was the worst time of her life.

Ultima Esperanza

Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover) Amanda on vocals from the balcony, Brian on guitar from the stage.

Mandy Goes to Med School

(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!) (Beastie Boys cover) Long-time friend of the band (he produced the Coin-Operated Boy video) Manta played bass, Amanda took to the drums and was taken aback by the amount of blood on them, Brian played electric guitar.

Coin-Operated Boy

War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover) Amanda went on a sarcastic rant about the wonderful political climate in America with full rights for women and racial justice for all and closed by saying “You came to a Dresden Dolls show. Sorry!”

Half Jack Amanda talked about her strained relationship with her father then announced that he would be attending the Saturday show. “There is no wound that you cannot fucking heal.”

Girl Anachronism

——

Truce

Sing This started out being a hot mess, but ended up turning into something beautiful. After the drums broke Brian grabbed a guitar and headed to the front of the stage, Amanda came out from behind the piano and they did it totally acoustically with enthusiastic participation from the crowd. A magical ending to the night.

Photo Gallery:

The set list was followed to the letter tonight.

Amanda hit the stage over dressed.

Brian opened Good Day on guitar …

… then switched to drums.

Thoroughly. Professional.

DRUMMER DOWN! DRUMMER DOWN!!

Veronica Swift gave her all on Delilah.

Amanda. Fucking. Palmer.

Brian plays bass and drums on The Gardener.

AMSTERDAM!

Best photobomb ever.

Manta played bass on Fight for Your Right. Manta and Mander!

Fight. For your right. To paaaaaaaarty!

Can we just take a moment to appreciate Brian’s shoes?

Brian is about to beat the shit out of his drums. They know what they did. Also note the lightbulbs overhead. And the one missing.

Sing is salvaged from the wreckage.

Shit got real after the show. (Photos by Krys Fox(!))

Family portrait by Krys Fox!

Colony, Woodstock, NY, 11/10/22

Long ago, in the Before Times, there was a band; a percussive duo called The Dresden Dolls. They weren’t for everyone, but for the flamboyant outcasts lurking at the edges of society their music was a healing salve, a fierce battle cry, a national anthem, and a barbaric yawp all rolled into one. Their live shows channeled the manic communal energy of a tent revival where people screamed and cried and laughed and sang, often all at the same time. 

After the band broke up a malevolent Id Monster was elected and a plague shut down the world (coincidence?); events that hit the band’s fanbase of theatrical misfits particularly hard. 

But fear not, my children, for I bring glad tidings: The Dresden Dolls are BACK! Not back as in the occasional nostalgic reunion show, but back as in together, writing and recording new material, and scorched-earth, take-no-prisoners touring. BACK back. 

The band announced their triumphant return with a trio of shows at Colony, a tiny venue nestled in Woodstock, NY - adopted home of Amanda Palmer - the first of which took place on Thursday, November 10, 2022. 

The evening began with an unannounced performance by Ukrainian artist Svitlana Zavialova, who combines dance, martial arts, and painting to create works with a fierce beauty that perfectly compliments the chaotic aesthetic of The Dresden Dolls.

And then it was time. The audience - neophytes and seasoned veterans alike - thought we were ready; that this would be a good concert and a fun show. Such naïveté seems quaint in retrospect. The Dresden Dolls were not there to entertain us, oh no. They were there to enlist us, to astound us, to redefine us, to use us as their instruments to create a space that was safe, yes, but also potent and human and defiant and sometimes maybe even a little scary. The universe created this night was small in both time and space, but it was powerful and it was searingly beautiful. Afterwards the crowd was left drained and exhilarated and awestruck. We were left to contemplate the meaning of our very existence in this brave new world. The Dresden Dolls are BACK.

And they are back with a vengeance! They opened with Good Day, which was their traditional opener back in the day (and the very first song I ever heard them play live in 2004), but then they torched through 5 or 6 (8? 12?) songs in rapid relentless succession without pausing for breath. If I hadn’t sneaked a pic of the set list before the show I wouldn’t have been able to keep up. 

Later in the set there was some of the traditional intra-song banter, but for the most part the entire set was pedal-to-the-metal and take-no-prisoners. These artists are each formidable in their own right, but when they combine their talents there is a cosmic resonance that must be witnessed (live!) to be comprehended. This show was dance condensed into music. It was emotion turned into sound. It was both a time machine to the past and a promise for the future. And both the band and the crowd were left wondering how we will survive two more nights of this.

Annotated Set List:

Good Day

Sex Changes

Gravity

Bad Habit

Backstabber

Modern Moonlight

Alcoholic Friends

Missed Me

Dear Jenny

Mrs. O

Astronaut

Delilah (featuring Holly Miranda)

The Gardener (featuring Brian on bass and drums simultaneously)

Whakenewha NEW SONG!! The name (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa for no discernible reason) is taken from a national park in New Zealand, where Amanda weathered the pandemic.

(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!) (Beastie Boys cover) (featuring Holly Miranda on bass, Amanda on drums, and Brian on electric guitar)

Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover) Amanda headed up to the balcony for this one, and finished by spraying the crowd below with beer. As you do.

Mandy Goes to Med School

War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)

Coin-Operated Boy

Half Jack

Girl Anachronism

——

Truce

Sing

Photo Gallery:

The official set list, which was subject to some minor modifications. Note the lyric prompts!

Amanda Palmer in her natural habitat, with drumstick.

Brian looking very dapper, at least for now.

Amanda trying to keep Brian in line.

Brian will not be kept in line.

Brian pulls double duty on bass and drums for The Gardener.

Holly Miranda on bass fighting for her right to party.

Amanda on drums and Brian on electric guitar join the fight!

Amanda up on the balcony for Amsterdam.

Oh hey, Regina Spektor!

The Old Dutch Church, Kingston, NY, 8/12/22

After 3 years of COVID-imposed exile Amanda Palmer’s triumphant return to an American stage took place Saturday, August 12 at The Old Dutch Church in Kingston, NY: a fundraiser for the O+ (O Positive) Festival that provides healthcare to artists in exchange for art. The evening was an eclectic mix of armed interpretive dance, spoken word, music, and primal screaming. In other words, a pretty typical Amanda Palmer show.

Distracted by the sudden hospitalization of her father, Amanda almost cancelled the show and rehearsed little for it. But let’s face it: highly polished shows that go off without a hitch are not really Amanda’s shtick. She lives in chaos and uncertainty and is a master at crafting art in the moment.

The night kicked off with the glittering ball of fabulous that is Chris Wells entering to the blaring strains of Eye of the Tiger wearing sequins, shorts, and a cape held aloft over his head like a pair of angel wings. He led the crowd in a sustained primal scream that shook the rafters of the sanctuary. I went all in and bellowed to such an extent that afterwards the stranger sitting next to me exclaimed, “I thought you were gonna lose some organs!”

Then came Wu Woman (aka Svitlana Zavialova), who performed a martial interpretive dance accompanied by Amanda on the church organ, Gracie on piano, and Rachel on violin playing some presumably improvised ambient trance music. Svitlana’s performance culminated with her dipping her hands in black paint and then attacking a canvas - all within the context of her dance - to create a new original painting.

Afterwards Gracie and Rachel performed a beautiful set of songs about anxiety that mined the space at the intersection of pop and experimental. Truly wonderful.

Chris Wells, who was serving as MC for the evening returned to solicit input for a poem. We were asked to propose ingredients for a utopian society. In addition to several standard progressive goals (free housing, health care, justice, etc.) there were some more nontraditional suggestions like mushrooms, dogs that talk, and better parents.

Father Nathan Monk then assumed his once-familiar position at the pulpit to recite an excerpt from his book All Saints Hotel & Cocktail Lounge.

And then it was time.

Amanda took the stage and assumed her now traditional role that is part raconteur, part lounge singer, part drum major of a cacophonous band of beautiful artistic misfits.

It wasn’t slick or polished, but it was authentic and entertaining. And, after 3 longs years of absence I felt like a parched wretch crawling across a blistering desert who finally finds an oasis to slake his thirst.

Annotated Set List:

Behind the Wall (a cappella) (Tracy Chapman cover)

In My Mind (uke) After the line “I’ll be a good defensive driver” Amanda paused to sardonically quip, “I’m from Boston.” Much to the delight of the assembled New Yorkers.

The Thing About Things (uke)

Jump (piano) (Derek and Clive cover) This song is now traditional whenever Amanda plays in a church.

Ampersand (piano)

Runs in the Family (piano)

Voicemail for Jill (piano)

Coin-Operated Boy (piano)

Ode to Divorce (piano) (Regina Spektor cover)

Drowning in the Sound (piano) accompanied by Svitlana dancing … with a sword. Gracie and Rachel also chimed in on the chorus from some hidden corner of the sanctuary, lending a beautifully eerie tone.

Then there was a pause in the action to auction off the painting that Svitlana had created at the top of the night.

NEW SONG (piano) Amanda didn’t give the title of the song, but described it as a love letter to New Zealand. Judging by the lyrics I’d guess it is either called Little Island, or Jaime Says, but who knows? (Amanda, obviously.)

I Will Not Be Purified (spoken) Sophie Strand accompanied by Amanda & Gracie on piano & Rachel on violin.

Death Thing (piano) (Dedicated to Sophie)

Then Amanda announced that Brian Viglione will be coming to New York in the fall and they will cut a NEW DRESDEN DOLLS RECORD! I know we’ve heard this before but THIS time for SURE! Probably.

I Love You So Much (piano) (Noah Britton cover) w/ Chris & Gracie & Rachel adding harmony.

Another World (Joan Baez cover) Amanda on vocals, Gracie on piano, Rachel on violin, Father Nathan & Sophie on traveling bells, Svitlana on globe delivery, and Chris in charge of tucking the globe into bed. Whatever else you wanna say about this show they definitely stuck the landing.

Photo Gallery:

There was a logistical problem in that it was a church, not a theater, and the piano couldn’t be placed anywhere but at the same level as the pews, which meant that Amanda was largely invisible to a good fraction of the audience. From my vantage point I had a reasonable line of sight, albeit through a crowd of heads.

Amanda tried to address the visibility issue by playing standing up, à la Tori Amos, but found it difficult to sustain.

She took to standing on a stool between songs to tell introductory stories and she only almost fell and broke her neck like three times.

Preach, Amanda!

The entire assemblage with the tucked-in globe.

WELCOME HOME AMANDA!!

Theatre at the Ace Hotel, LA, 5/11/19

This was the second of two back-to-back stops on Amanda Palmer’s There Will Be No Intermission tour. This write-up will be more like my traditional write-up about the specifics of this night and comparing and contrasting with the previous night. For a more general overview of the show see my write-up of the San Francisco show.

The story of this evening centers around the crowd.

On the one hand, the crowd was full of luminaries of the AFP universe. John Congleton, whose virtuosic production really brought the album to life, was present, as was Amber Sealey, director of the video for Voicemail for Jill. Former bandmates Jherek Bischoff and Brian Viglione (with his lovely wife Olya) were in the house, as well as documentarian Ondi Timoner, sex toy magnate Kim Airs, and political genius turned screenwriter Laurie Penny.

But on the other hand, the crowd in general was a lot more rambunctious than the SF crowd had been. Amanda has always been very supportive of audience participation at her shows, but this is not the show to be screaming “OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU!!” every five seconds. I felt that this threw her timing off a little because every time she tried to leave some space in the performance it was immediately filled by a shouting audience member.

Amanda handled all of this like a seasoned pro, and the show was still powerful and enjoyable.

Annotated Set List:

The evening kicks off with a recording of Neil Gaiman reading the forward to the art book that is a companion piece to the album.

Judy Blume. This was the first time I noticed that the line “The world’s a vicious place” has been changed to “frightening place,” even on the album.

While discussing her formative years as a songwriter Amanda intimated that the songs to which she was drawn were essentially incomprehensible. “If The Cure were singing about abortion - which they probably were - I wouldn’t have known.”

Runs in the Family. The piano repairman who was Romanian last night magically became Bulgarian tonight. Poetic license.

The Thing About Things (ukulele)

Amanda has been effusive in her praise of Brian Viglione’s role in the early years of the Dresden Dolls. She says he was her personal Henry Rollins punk rock motivational speaker, and credits him with getting her ass in a van and on the road, even while they were being derided as a “gay mime band.” This is always a good story but took on special significance tonight with Brian present.

Bigger on the Inside

Mandy Goes to Med School (excerpt)

Oasis. Discussing the backlash from this song, Amanda mused that if it were written in a minor key (sad) and a slow tempo (sad) it probably would have been embraced by the feminist establishment. She then proceeded to play a few bars in that style, which was awkwardly hilarious.

Part of Your World (from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”)

Tonight while discussing Adam Sandler abortions and Doctors without Watches Amanda opined that “There is no Yelp for abortion.”

Machete

In discussing Jason Webley and the Crazy Uncle Tour Amanda recounted how Jason challenged them to each write 11 songs in one day, then proceeded to run errands until about 5:00. Jason did end up writing half a song called “Henry’s Donuts” about an iconic donut shop in Everett, WA, which he actually played at the Shakaroo event. Amanda played a brief snippet, attempting her best Jason Webley impersonation.

A Mother’s Confession

- Intermission -

Coin-Operated Boy

Amanda recounted her experience spending a weekend at a prison for a restorative justice retreat. This involved having intimate discussions with a small group of convicted murderers, one of whom was named Coyote. On the second day she hit a squirrel with her car on the way to the prison, earning her the nickname Amanda the Squirrel Killer.

The Killing Type

Drowning in the Sound

Voicemail for Jill

Let It Go (from Disney’s “Frozen”)

The Ride

Photo Gallery:

The scene of the crime ...

... was really beautiful inside!

Amanda in action!

DRESDEN DOLLS REUNION!!!

The Warfield, San Francisco, CA, 5/10/19

WARNING: There are significant spoilers ahead. If you are planning to see There Will Be No Intermission you might want to wait until afterward to read this.

Amanda Palmer’s There Will Be No Intermission show (spoiler: there will be an intermission) poses a unique dilemma for me. Her typical shows are a series of songs with impromptu stories and banter liberally sprinkled throughout. This show, by contrast, is essentially a long, considered monologue with songs liberally sprinkled throughout. My typical write-ups are what I call annotated set lists: I faithfully record the songs played, and add some short, pithy commentary to capture the essence and spirit of the banter without getting bogged down in the details.

That approach seems inadequate for this tour, which Amanda has quite rightly been describing as a “one-woman show” rather than a concert.

The essence of the show is a 7-year emotional diary of the trials and tribulations of Amanda’s recent experience. Birth, death, abortion, miscarriage, social shaming, personal triumph. You know: life.

For this show Amanda transforms herself into a sort of goth punk Mary Poppins: Here is the medicine you need to take to deal with what’s going on, I’ll sprinkle it with a spoonful of comedy to help it go down, then we’ll sing a song to help you process what you’ve just learned.

But this is not just self-reflective navel-gazing. At every turn Amanda delivers her own personal pain in a way that is genuine, approachable, and true. And it is in that truth that the power lies, because while the pain is personal and specific to her, the truth is universal. Not everyone has sat by the deathbed of their beloved mentor, but everyone loses people they care about. Not every parent leaves their baby in a car, but every parent experiences the collision of the needs of everyday life with the needs of caring for an infant and every parent makes mistakes as a result. Not every woman experiences a miscarriage alone on Christmas, but many women experience miscarriage and even more experience childbirth and can imagine how they would have felt if their pregnancies were terminated in that way.

And then there’s abortion. A common, safe, legal medical procedure that our society has vilified and made shameful so that millions of women are forced to experience the physical and emotional hardship alone and in secret. Yes millions. Tens of millions. In the show Amanda makes a point of the fact that when she started talking about her abortions she was invariably met with women recounting their own stories with palpable relief. After the show I told her that this jives perfectly with my own experience: The majority of women I know well have told me about their abortions. It is ubiquitous, which makes the attempts at shaming all the more cruel and unusual.

All of this is accomplished masterfully. It’s the emotional equivalent of watching someone walk a high wire without a net whilst juggling flaming chainsaws. That it all goes off without a hitch is a testament to Amanda’s artistic virtuosity.

It would be so easy - honestly it seems almost inevitable - for this show to collapse into maudlin sentimentality or harsh preachiness. But Amanda is an artist at the absolute peak of her powers, having been forged in the fires of Internet trollery and quenched in the waters of radical empathy. It is rare for the perfect artist to arise with the perfect message at precisely the perfect time, but that is exactly what is happening right now and it is not to be missed.

This is by far the most impactful and mature work Amanda has yet created. She simply could not have produced this show 10 years ago, not just because she lacked the experiences recounted, but also because she had yet to develop the wisdom and self-assurance that this show demands of her.

But now she is capable of delivering this message at a time when it is needed most. And if you can, you must.

Annotated Set List:

Judy Blume

In recounting the origins of this song Amanda let slip that the musical influences of her teen self revealed a love of old British white men. It took a hot second for this joke to land, but we got it eventually.

During late night practice sessions her stepfather would chide a young Amanda that, “This isn’t even music! You’re just banging on the piano!”

Runs In The Family

All of this banging led to broken piano strings, which necessitated the summoning of an old Romanian man to effect repairs. Though expensive Amanda speculated that her mother rightly calculated that it was cheaper than therapy.

The Thing About Things (ukulele)

Amanda recounted the story of the Boston Marathon bombing, her poem that dared to imagine what the bomber felt, and the ensuing shitstorm. Empathy is not endorsement.

Bigger on the Inside (ukulele)

As the evening sailed into more emotionally-fraught waters Amanda enunciated her policy allowing audience members to yell out “Amanda! I’m too sad!” which would prompt her to lighten the mood with the opening bars of Coin-Operated Boy.

She then told the story of her first abortion at 17 years old. The most difficult and painful part was walking from the car to the clinic past the rabid protesters on the sidewalk. Her boyfriend gave her a Christmas cactus, which she vowed to protect and nurture for the rest of her life. It was dead within 4 months, a testament to her readiness for parenthood at that time.

She then recounted her artistic struggles with the topic of abortion over the years and played a few bars of her first attempt.

Mandy Goes to Med School (excerpt)

Her second attempt was ridiculed for making light of date rape and abortion. At the time she just absorbed the criticism, but she subsequently came to realize that as an artist it was pretty much her job to plumb the depths of darkness and bring what she discovers into the light so that everyone can process it.

Oasis (the crowd was enjoined to sing the backing parts as The Abortion Beatles)

When next she became pregnant Amanda was married and stable both financially and professionally. But basically the only experience with children she had were the restless children in airports tended by their harried parents. This led to a level of uncertainty that caused Neil to refer to the fetus as “Schroedinger’s baby” as Amanda struggled with the decision of whether to have a child.

There then followed an exhortation to the audience to consider the next song as being simultaneously sung by the mother who had the child, the artist who had the abortion, the fetus in question, as well as ... the vagina. You kinda had to be there.

Part of Your World (from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”)

She ultimately decided to abort, which paradoxically put her firmly on the path to motherhood and she became pregnant again as her beloved mentor was fading from leukemia. I cannot do this story arc justice in a brief snippet. Suffice it to say that it involved an “Adam Sandler” abortion, a charity called “Doctors without Watches,” and a birth/grief sandwich. You seriously need to see this show.

I had wondered why Amanda’s son - named Anthony after the aforementioned mentor - was nicknamed Ash. Well, Ash is what is left after the rest burns away.

Machete

The Crazy Uncle Tour saw 4mo-old Ash traverse the continent whilst variously sleeping in a dog bed full of dogs and an accordion case. Like you do.

A Mother’s Confession

- Intermission -

Amanda hinted that another Dresden Dolls album may be in the offing once this tour is completed. (Eep!)

Coin-Operated Boy (this time for real!)

The Killing Type

Drowning in the Sound

Amanda’s art has been liberated from the chains of commerce and the predatory music industry through the auspices of Patreon, a crowdfunding site that allows fans to support artists directly. She is an enthusiastic advocate of Patreon, but has struggled to find a narrative that clicked with the uninitiated. Lately she has found an effective analogy, comparing Patreon to NPR. You might not listen to every second of broadcasting that NPR produces - you may not even like all of it. But you believe in the overall vision of NPR and you want it to exist, so you give them money. Not to buy something or to dictate what they program, but simply to allow them to exist and keep doing what they are doing. So it is with Patreon. I think this is a very effective analogy.

So this tour was made possible by Patreon, but it certainly wasn’t an inevitable outcome of her Patreon support. So why do it? Why be the object of the inevitable hatred and vitriol? Why be a lightning rod?

She told of an early yoga instructor she had back in the day who would exhort his students attempting particularly difficult poses with the mantra: “If you can, you must.” She has reached a point in her life, in her career, and in her artistic development at which she can do this. And so, she must.

Voicemail for Jill

Her next pregnancy was greeted with joy. She was thrilled at the prospect of Ash having a sibling, and no longer afraid of the impact another child would have on her life.

The universe, it seems, had other plans.

The story culminates in her having a miscarriage alone in a hotel room atop a frigid mountain on Christmas night. While obviously not a happy or pleasant experience, neither was it terrifying or trauma-inducing. She had grown to know what she was capable of as a person and what her body was capable of as a woman. She embraced the darkness and leaned into the experience clear-eyed and unafraid. The only way out is through.

Turns out there’s a perfect song for that.

Let It Go (from Disney’s “Frozen”)

This is pure genius in so many ways. First, simply repurposing a children’s song for such a wrenching adult experience. Second, it actually works SO WELL in that role. Third, it ties into so many threads running through the show, both about life and parenting in general and about “Frozen” specifically. And finally, it is the consummate achievement of the artist’s stated goal to venture into darkness, but bring it into the light. Offering the audience a familiar vehicle to connect with while forcing them to process it through a prism of grief and loss. This is art. This is what every artist strives for but few ever achieve at all, and even then only rarely.

The Ride

The alternative’s nothingness, might as well give it a try.

Photo Gallery:

For the most part I was too engrossed to take many pics, however ...

Here’s Amanda telling a story while sitting at the piano:

Here’s Amanda telling a story while standing center stage:

And HERE’s Amanda telling a story while sitting on the edge of the stage with a ukulele:

Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ, 10/18/18

Amanda's dad Jack (See. Jack. Run.) recently moved from D.C. to Tucson, AZ, which occasioned a family vacation with the entire crew - husband Neil, son Ash, and even sister Alyson (who asked for a stove for her birthday). But, Amanda being Amanda, why have a nice family visit when you can sell out a 1200-seat theater for a show?

And so it was that the whole famn damily trucked over to Tucson's Rialto Theatre on a Thursday night to entertain a packed house. Though the evening was described as being "organized by imaginary muppets," things actually ran fairly smoothly and overall the show was top-notch.

Amanda put out a call for an after-show Patron meet-up, which ended up being at the Congress Hotel - a sprawling complex of bars and dance floors - literally across the street from the venue, which turned out to be a trip in itself.

Annotated Set List:

Amanda took the stage with her trusty ukulele, which was woefully out of tune, as is tradition.

Makin' Whoopee (cover; lyrics by Gus Kahn, music by Walter Donaldson). After the first verse Neil came onstage to thunderous applause and they sang alternating verses.

In My Mind - Amanda (uke)

Amanda let on that she had just approved the master recordings for her new solo record that very morning. She said it will be the saddest record she’s ever recorded and has been dubbed a “5 hanky” record by her staff. (Merch opportunity: she will be offering hankies for sale.) The record will include ...

The Thing About Things - Amanda (uke)

October Tale (from A Calendar of Tales) - Neil (spoken)

The Mushroom Hunters - Neil (spoken) This poem was commissioned by Amanda for the Universe in Verse event.

Judy Blume - Amanda (piano)

Coin-Operated Boy - Amanda (piano) She actually sang the line “Take him in the bath” as opposed to the more traditional X-rated version, explaining “there are lots of kids here.” But then, in the very next song ...

Vegemite - Amanda (piano) She explained that this song was written in response to Neil’s complaints that she had never written him a love song. The line “Refuse to kiss or touch you for a week” was replaced with “Refuse to kiss or fuck you” ... WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?!??

Freya’s Unusual Wedding (from Norse Mythology) - Neil (spoken)

You Got Me Singing (Leonard Cohen cover) - Jack on guitar and vocals, Amanda on vocals

It Is Very Difficult to Get the Train to Stop (Alexandra Petri WAPO op-ed) - Amanda (spoken)

At this point Alma Hernandez (@almaforarizona), a newly-minted member of the AZ State House, came on stage to stump for US Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema).

The Times They Are A-changin’ (Bob Dylan cover) - Jack on guitar and vocals, Amanda on uke and vocals

If This Is Goodbye (Emmylou Harris & Mark Knopfler cover) - Jack on guitar and vocals, Amanda & Alyson on vocals. Song inspired by the events of 9/11.

What I Believe - Neil (spoken)

Sing - Jack on guitar and backing vocals, Amanda on piano and vocals, Neil, Alyson, & some friends plus the entire theater on backing vocals.

——

Psycho (Leon Payne Cover) - Neil on vocals, Amanda on uke (and totally deadpan facial expression)

Ukulele Anthem - Amanda (uke) accompanied by all and sundry. There was a guy 2 rows in front of me who had clearly never heard the song before and watching his reactions was one of the highlights of the evening.

After the show those in the know ambled across the street to the Hotel Congress. The event was sort of a chaotic meet and greet; Amanda didn’t have time for a more traditional signing line. The highlight was Amanda leading the assemblage in a raucous version of Radiohead’s Creep, which eventually got loud enough that they temporarily killed the blaring hiphop and the U of A students stared in befuddlement.

Photo Gallery:

The scene of the crime.

Some combination of the lighting, distance from the stage, and my crappy phone camera conspired to thwart most of my efforts to document the event. This is one of the more recognizable images of Amanda uking it up.

This amorphous blob is offered as evidence that Neil was, in fact, there.

Slightly more success at the secret post-show Patron lovefest.

Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR, 4/7/18

Amanda and Jason Webley scheduled a weird little 4-day mini-tour of the Pacific Northwest (Spokane, Eugene, Portland, and Seattle) essentially so that they would have an excuse to hang out together. I hang out with my friends all the time without scheduling a tour around it, but whatever.

With no child to worry about and no curfew, they each played nice long solo sets, as well as a collaborative set, and then Amanda signed into the wee hours.

The Saturday-night crowd was very raucous and highly engaged. The floor was spring-loaded for extra bounciness. And the ASL interpreter threatened to steal the show on multiple occasions.

Annotated Set List:

Jason kicked the night off with a solo set.

Two Banks of the River

Ways to Love

The Times They Are a-Changin’ (Bob Dylan cover). Jason made a few topical changes to the lyrics (e.g. the times, they are a-larming)

A History of Violence. Jason told the story of The Everett Massacre, the 100th anniversary of which this song was commissioned to commemorate.

Promise to the Moon. And there was much howling.

Last Song

- Intermission -

Amanda kicked her set off from the balcony, unamplified.

In My Mind

Map of Tasmania (from the stage). The ASL interpreter nearly gave up on this one. You could see “What have I gotten myself into?!??” slowly spreading across his face.

Ampersand

Missed Me

Astronaut. Amanda told the story about how this song was finished in the beer-brewing cellar of this very venue after she learned that the former lover whom it is about would be in attendance at that night’s Dresden Dolls show.

Judy Blume

Killing Type

- Jason joined Amanda on stage -

The Wolf Song. This is a song they wrote together for JIB, a rock musical by Michael McQuilken’s Old Sound Room.

Electric Blanket

Chicken Man (Evelyn Evelyn cover (excerpt))

Have You Seen My Sister Evelyn? (Evelyn Evelyn cover)

- AFP solo -

Amanda attempted to play Ukulele Anthem by request, but had to abort. Apparently the batteries in the uke’s pickup were dead.

Coin-Operated Boy. The look on the ASL interpreters face during the line “I can even fuck him in the ass” was pretty much the highlight of the evening. Bemusement tinged with a soupçon of fear.

Drowning in the Sound

Strength Through Music 2018 (Jason read the names). The pregnant pause at the end of this song just went on and on. In the end the crowd never applauded but just stood in absolute silence. It was powerful.

Guitar Hero

Glass Slipper

Runs in the Family. Someone in the crowd yelled “I’ve got 15 people here who all want to hear Runs in the Family!!” Amanda said she would play it if he promised to get all 15 to sign up for the Patreon.

Prolonged Half Jack intro into Zombie (The Cranberries cover) into Half Jack

———

Icarus. Jason & Amanda in their traditional duet.

The Ride

Photo Gallery:

Jason Webley is a modern-day troubadour. Note the ASL interpreter to the right.

The artist in her natural habitat.

The dynamic duo ...

... in action!

The Paradise, Boston, MA, 11/6/17

In any series of performances there is something about Closing Night. On the one hand, lessons have been learned over the run and the kinks have been worked out. But on the other hand there is an inclination to pull out the stops because there is no tomorrow, no reason to hold anything back.

And so it was with The Dresden Dolls on this final night of a short run of shows. Overall the set was tighter and things ran smoother, but there was still enough of their trademark spontaneous randomness to keep the performance fresh and the crowd engaged.

Though there were specific highlights from the previous shows that eclipsed anything tonight - Killing in the Name on Halloween, Amanda’s animated performance of Mandy Goes to Med School on Friday, Brian’s face-melting intro to Half Jack on Saturday - tonight’s performance was top-to-bottom the strongest overall.

As befits Closing Night.

Annotated Set List:

Girl Anachronism

Dirty Business

Missed Me

Modern Moonlight

Pirate Jenny (from The Threepenny Opera; lyrics Bertolt Brecht, music Kurt Weill). Originally written in German, Amanda intimated that she had translated the version they were playing herself, saying it was the only useful thing she had gotten from her German studies.

Mandy Goes to Med School. For some reason Amanda had uncharacteristic difficulty getting through this one tonight.

Shores of California

Mrs. O

Amanda talked briefly about gun violence in response to the shooting in Sutherland Springs, TX. She recounted all the (now numerous) times she had learned about some tragic attack or other just before going onstage and her struggle with how to respond as an artist.

Strength Through Music. Tonight she responded with this song from her first solo record that was inspired by the Columbine shooting. Tick tick tick boom.

Gravity

Bank of Boston Beauty Queen

New Song. I’ve given up trying to figure out what to call this one. But it’s fucking fantastic!

Material Girl (Madonna cover)

Blitzkrieg Bop (The Ramones cover). AFP on drums.

Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes cover). Amanda channeled Meg White, Brian played electric guitar, and the audience provided vocals for this brief interlude of randomness.

Rid of Me (PJ Harvey cover)

Napoleon (Ani DiFranco cover). AFP back at the keyboard.

Small Hands, Small Heart

Ultima Esperanza

Free Bird (Jason Webley cover). Every night I pray someone will come unbirden me.

Slide. The Orange Man’s got you!

Delilah (w/ Cormac Bride). Cormac requested this before the show and in a surprise twist Amanda invited him onstage to perform as, I think, the first male Delilah in history.

Half Jack. The intro got off to a bit of a rough start with Amanda and Brian having trouble getting in sync. But then Brian passed out a couple dozen drumsticks to the crowd so that they could play along - on a metal rail, on the stage, on their neighbor’s head - adding a nice touch of audience participation and saving the day.

Backstabber

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Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover). Amanda told the story of hearing this song for the first time when her German friend Davide played it on an acoustic guitar. When she asked what it was Davide said, “It is David Bowie’s cover of Jacque Brel’s ‘Amsterdam.’ How could you not know this?”

Coin-Operated Boy. Somehow, during the pregnant pause after I. Want. ... a cover of Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison spontaneously erupted. Afterwards Amanda asked, “How did THAT happen?”

——

Sing

Photo Gallery:

Amanda actually came onstage wearing clothes!

But it didn’t last long ...

Rock god, or drum demon?

Hey! Ho! Let’s GO!

Cormac Bride on Delilah

Oh hey, Brian.

Amsterdam!

The Paradise, Boston, MA, 11/4/17

This afternoon I was privileged to attend a concert by Mary Bichner, a flamboyantly-talented composer who was finishing up her tenure as Artist-in-Residence at the Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.

Superficially her classical chamber music could not be more different from that of The Dresden Dolls. But the passion is the same. The dedication is the same. The giddy exuberance at being able to create and perform is the same. The drive to deeply connect with people on a fundamental, non-verbal, emotional level is the same.

The human race is staggeringly diverse and these days it seems no one can agree on anything. But there’s barely a person on this planet who does not connect with some sort of music or art in a way that is profoundly important to their life. An argument can be made that this is the defining quality that makes us human. In any case, to my mind this commonality is far more important than petty squabbles over tax cuts or who should be President.

You don’t have to enjoy the same music as someone to understand the glorious feeling that enjoying music gives them, because you know that exact same feeling. If they love polka and you love ambient techno the love is the same.

Today I loved Mary Bichner’s chamber music and The Dresden Dolls’ punk caberet. One involved quietly sitting in a pew in a chapel, the other involved alcohol and jumping around and screaming. But both involved being awestruck at creative genius and the power of finely-crafted art lovingly presented. They are the same in the only way that really matters, as are we all.

Annotated Set List:

Girl Anachronism

Dirty Business

Missed Me

Ultima Esperanza

(During an interlude Brian revealed that he had once performed onstage as Baby Bobby Ali Baba. Or something.)

Pirate Jenny (from The Threepenny Opera; lyrics Bertolt Brecht, music Kurt Weill)

Mandy Goes to Med School (video by Tricia Smith (@chocl8girl))

Shores of California

Mrs. O

Gravity Amanda revealed that this song is about being a teenager with back pain, which I had not heard before.

(Brian broke a mallet, and while he has infinite drumsticks this is not the case for mallets. So he had to perform surgery by gaffers-taping the mallety end to a drumstick, giving Amanda a chance to declare her hatred for DJT (shocker) and muse that everything - even the solar system - can be fixed with gaffers tape. One day aliens will arrive to find the moon gaffers-taped to Jupiter, but it will all be working fine.)

Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 (Richard Strauss cover). Brief interlude inspired by the gaffers-taped solar system.

Glass Slipper

Thirty Whacks They were not intending to play this tonight so I was enlisted to pull the lyrics up on my phone and act as a “Tom-o-Prompter” in case she forgot the words. Sure enough, she fucked up. But I half suspect she was just testing me, since she had played it fine the previous night.

Untitled New Song aka The Love You Never Got aka The Hand of God aka Snakes on a Plane 3

Material Girl (Madonna cover). Now 100% zombie free!

(I’ll be honest: things went a little bit off the rails at this point. But in a goofy, exuberant way, not a complete trainwreck way.)

Blitzkrieg Bop (The Ramones cover). Amanda took up her now-traditional place behind the drum kit for this set of songs.

(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!) (Beastie Boys cover). Impromptu interlude with Brian on electric guitar & Amanda on drums. The Tom-o-Prompter was called into service again as if A) the lyrics matter and B) they would stop in the middle for a consultation.

Every Rose Has Its Thorn (Poison cover). Just … don’t ask.

Rid of Me (PJ Harvey cover)

Napoleon (Ani DiFranco cover). AFP back on piano.

Bank of Boston Beauty Queen

Backstabber

Small Hands, Small Heart

Half Jack Holy shit. Usually the intro is a musical conversation with back and forth but tonight Brian just … WENT OFF on a prolonged, intricate, high-octane, virtuosic drum RANT. If there are drummers in Valhalla this is what they sound like. All I could do was laugh giddily and cry tears of joy.

—

Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover)

Coin-Operated Boy

Sing

Photo Gallery:

Are you ready to rock?

Why yes, I am!

This is harder than it looks.

Brian is staring into your soul.

All piano and no drums would make Amanda a dull girl.

Rock god.

ROCK GOD!!

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