The Unstoppable, Inimitable, Magnetic Amanda Palmer’s Theatre Is Evil
By Jane Croft
There are many reasons to envy the force known as Amanda Palmer. She started out humbly, busking in Cambridge’s Harvard Square as a living statue and then smashing into the musical and artistic performance scene when she co-founded the Dresden Dolls. She earned solo success with her 2008 album Who Killed Amanda Palmer? and found marital success with my all-time crush, Neil Gaiman (for which I have yet to forgive her). Really, Palmer can’t be stopped.
Her most recent bragging right is the 2012 studio album Theatre Is Evil by Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra (above), produced by John Congleton. The recording and release process was funded by a Kickstarter project that raised a total of over $1.1 million.
The album is a great collection of Palmer’s rock, mixed with synth, drama, and balls. She’s truly a live wire in these songs, hollering out her heart, high on the power of truth. But the Grand Theft Orchestra sets a lovely stage upon which she can shine: we’ve got the mighty Palmer on vocals, piano, and synthesizers, Jherek Bischoff on vocals, upright bass, and guitar, Michael McQuilken on vocals, drums, percussion, and programming, and Chad Raines on vocals, guitar, trumpet, keyboards, and programming. Together, they create aural theatre…you be the judge of whether it’s evil or not!
The album, which can be downloaded from her site, includes addictive songs like “The Killing Type,” which could easily wiggle its way into your ear and make a home in your head for a good long time. The beats are simple; Palmer keeps her voice persistent and steady and insists that “She’s not the killing type,” but she’d “…Kill to make you feel.”
This kick-butt musician is also well-known for her darling fashions, or sometimes lack thereof. We often see her out in cute vintage dresses or lingerie-like ensembles, complete with killer stockings, corsets, bra-tops and sexy knee-high boots. But in the music video for the song “Want it Back,” Palmer is featured in the buff, with lyrics to the song floating along her nude form.
Another reason to envy Palmer ~ she’s got the guts and the goods to strut her stuff.
(We caught Amanda’s show in Boston last November — check out some of the pics!)
For more info, go to www.amandapalmer.net.
THIS JUST IN!!!
New Video for “The Bed Song” Premieres on Entertainment Weekly! Click here to watch video!
Amanda has also been invited to deliver a “TED Talk” at the TED 2013 Conference , the world-renown “big ideas” confab on February 27, where she will discuss her unique business model and explore ideas around community building, crowd-sourcing and audience engagement. “Being invited to speak on the main stage of TED is such a huge honor. I will defy all expectations and very probably give my talk fully clothed,” says Palmer.