Pigface, Sheep on Drugs, Nocturne, and Voodou: Hollywood, CA 5-8-05

Martin Atkins’s Underground, Inc.’s latest gift to loyal fans of gritty industrial rock is the Free For All Tour, a series of concerts throughout the United States where the entirety of the ticket price can be redeemed for CDs and apparel at the merchandise booth. More important than this is of course the band line-up, and as always the folks at Underground have put together a colossal collection.

First up was the new incarnation of VooDou, with Corin replacing Pigface alumnus Michelle Walters as lead singer. At first it seems as though Corin’s angry shouting and jutting hipbones would be a poor substitute for Walters’s sultry stage presence, but after a few songs she really came into her own, interacting with the crowd and alternating between shrieks, moans, and bellows. VouDou’s sound also seems to have evolved; though the industrial effects, samples, and electronic textures are still present, there’s a stronger emphasis on the primal, almost tribal rock rhythms that suit the band so well, conveying a sense that VooDou is more than just a catchy band name.

Nocturne was second up, and front woman Lacey Conner was as brilliant as ever, gyrating and undulating across the stage in a Kevlar vest. Musically their set was a mix of new material and older favorites like the brilliantly offensive “My Bitch,” but a Nocturne show owes more to Conner’s stage presence than the band’s guitar-heavy brand of industrial metal. With voice that’s a part raging demon and part girlish coquette and a self-assured physicality that makes it nearly impossible to take your eyes off her, her performance would have been just as spellbinding if the rest of the band had been playing country or polka behind her.

The Free For All Tour also features the first US performances from Sheep On Drugs in over seven years, again with a revised line-up that features original instrumentalist and songwriter Lee Fraser in the front of the stage instead of behind the gear. While Fraser’s onstage patter never quite reached the ridiculous, egotistical humor of original vocalist Duncan X, his performance – complete with bloodstained lab coat – on such classics as “15 Minutes of Fame” and “Motorbike” as well as newer songs like “Streetwalker” revealed an over-the-top dance floor sleaziness undiminished by time.

Industrial super-group and headliners Pigface played a set remarkable for – among other things – the vast number of songs not actually available on Pigface records. Atari Teenage Riot’s Hanin Elias, the front woman for this tour, began the set by performing “Future Noire” and “You Suck” from her new solo album. After the rest of the band joined her onstage for a performance of fan favorite “Asphole,” the crew launched into a series of songs from related projects Murder Incorporated and the Damage Manual (both of which feature Pigface founder Martin Atkins), as well as the classic KFMDM hit “Godlike,” in honor of current Pigface member and former KMFDM vocalist En Esch. Joining the Pigface crew for the first time was the Enigma, the tattooed freak show performer most famous for hammering nails into his nose while on tour with the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow, and while such antics as running through the crowd with a chainsaw during “Auto Hag” were a bit of a distraction from the music, his growled vocals on a slowed-down version of “Insect/Suspect” took the song in an interesting, more overtly political direction. Other highlights included live favorite “White Trash Reggae,” which segued into a blistering “Alles Ist Meine,” Esch and Elias’s choppy duet on “Everything,” and an extended version of “Suck” featuring three separate drummers, a heavy dose of percussion even by Pigface standards. The rumor has been floating around that this will be the group’s last tour. Hopefully this isn’t true, but it’d be tough to find a better performance than this to go out on, so catch them while you can.