December 22, 2004
An audience with the Pope (of trash)
You may see a lot of hate coming from my direction aimed at a variety of sources: Indymedia twits, baseball potentates, people who slow down cashier lines, Channel 5, Hoobastank, et cetera. But there are things, organizations and people I do like. I got to see two of them perform last night at the 9:30 Club: Mary Prankster and John Waters.
Mary Prankster came on first, dressed in an outfit constructed from a Maryland state flag. Immidiately, I thought of one of my final nights in college, in a house where everything was being taken down or carted off, boxes of books and music covered by cans of beer and cigarette butts carelessly strewn about for the next tenant to clean up.
"You know what I'm gonna miss," said a drunken frat boy from a state with a flag composed of the state's seal on a solid background. "The crazy-ass flag they fly all over the place around here."
Only Mary Prankster can make that Carnaby Street accident look good:
Mary herself also brings me back to my days in Charm City. I first saw her at the old Ottobar and her (now dismembered) band was one of the first modern punk acts I listened to. That being said, things have taken a turn for the, well, mature. I've only seen her once since she spilt with Phil Tang and John E. Cakes because the middle-aged hacks that came in to fill the void didn't do it for me, nor did her turn to country music.
But she came back in full force, bandless and unplugged, but still rocking with the best of them. I fully realize that I wouldn't be as happy with her performance back in college, but I've matured along with Mary: I value my hearing and the ability to understand the words. The only major downer: She didn't play "Art Fag Bastard" or "Breakfast."
Next up was John Waters, fresh off the release of his Christmas album, which is currently #12 on Amazon, proving either that there's a market for the strange or that Little Cindy has a posse.
I really like John Waters, although I always come out of his movies dissapointed. He's a great interview subject, whether on Graham Norton's short-lived show, Letterman or Fresh Air on NPR. He talked about shoplifting, deviant sexual practices, books, primary education, movie directors you've never hears of, what he wants for Christmas and the usual stuff, but in much greater detail (and with much greater humor) than broadcast media allow. He also took questions at the end, most of whom were from people trying to get him to attack celebrities or the Bushes. I had heard much of the schtick on Fresh Air, but it was better without Terry Gross breaking in every 90 seconds with an asinine question. Really, Terry, just let the man speak.
After tonight's stand-up act, I get the feeling that his movies make excellent 30-second stories, but don't flesh out very well. John Waters should do a one-man show one of these days, taking it around the country to scare the squares.
Posted by rj3 at December 22, 2004 9:38 AM
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Comments
Definetly agree with you about Water's movies. Aside from possibly Crybaby and Hairspray, they were always better as concepts than actual movies. (Crybaby always gets points from me for using the old Enchanted Forest theme park as a set, since I used to go there as a little kid.)
Posted by: Drew at December 22, 2004 3:38 PM
I think Pecker stands on its own....no pun intended. Mary Pranksters fired her band, then sued them and lost for not going on tour. They didn't break up.
Posted by: schitzo at December 23, 2004 9:47 AM