Fame or Famine

Last night my friend Betty Wantsme (yes, she’s a burlesque performer, why do you ask?) took me out to the High Noon Saloon in Madison, WI to see “Screamin’ Cyn-Cyn & the Pons.” “I’m not sure if you’ll like the music,” she warned me, “but I know you’ll like the performance.”

I knew I would too, just from watching them set up. The drummer was sitting there, smiling and twinkling-eyed, twirling his sticks and patiently waiting for his mates to finish their tuning and stuff so he could start banging on things, his bass drum bouncing with little McDonalds Playland balls. The guitarist, Cynthia, and bassist, Christian, were dressed in gray, looking coldly beautiful as they tuned and carefully placed matching step-stools to either side of the lead singer, Shane, setting up his keyboard (which he later would manipulate in a truly stunning display of juggling dexterity). Shane’s costume deserves some mention, as well: black tights, white jockstrap with a red glitter pon-pon as a merkin, red and black taffeta swirled around his neck and his eyes outlined with Mad-Max-meets-MAC ferocity. And bottoming it all off were his 6″ platform mary-janes, which would break the neck of most who dared but which he capered, cavorted, and some other dancelike word that begins with C throughout the set.

Yeah, I knew I’d like them. I didn’t know how much. The show was fantastic, dancerly, exciting, just-on-the-edge of too loud, funny, powerful, and even, at times, thought provoking. There was a song about Cowboys, a song about Setting the Table (during which, to my shame, I missed Cynthia’s stage dive. I’ll do better next time, promise!) and an unforgettable song about 8th grade that morphed into the best punk cover of “Hot Stuff” I’ve ever heard (the fact that it’s the only such cover I’ve heard has nothing to do with it). The only complaint (aside from the unrequited crush I’m now suffering through, thanks a LOT, Cynthia!) I had was that their set was too short. But maybe it’s just because I was so caught up in it that the “Last Song!” announcement took me by surprise.

But you should listen and see for yourself. Aside from a myspace page, they are also about to go on tour, and you can also find their music online and soon be able to purchase their CD outside of Madison, as well. It’s the best $5 I’ve spent in a long time, and I know I’ll be going back to check them out.

1 Comment