Genitorturers and Hanzel und Gretyl: Santa Ana, CA 10-31-03

Band: The Genitorturers with Hanzel und Gretyl
City: Santa Ana
Venue: Galaxy Theatre
Date: Oct 31, 2003
Reviewer: Matthew J.

THE GENITORTURERS WITH HANZEL UND GRETYL AT THE GALAXY THEATRE, OCTOBER 31ST

The Genitorturers are notorious for their sadomasochistic take on industrial metal and their live shows have become legendary, so I was eagerly anticipating this show, expecting it to be like something out of the Marquis de Sade’s wildest nightmares. What I got was lot less like a Berlin snuff film and a lot more like something off of a pay-cable soft porn channel. This isn’t to say that Gen and her band didn’t put forth an effort, and the musicianship was loud, sleazy rock at its head-banging finest. It’s just that after hearing so much hype – tales of on-stage enemas and crucifixions during their European tours – it was a bit disappointing that the bulk of their performance amounted to schticks like one of Gen’s “slaves” crawling around the stage in a silver bicycle helmet during “The One Who Feeds,” or Gen herself pretending to masturbate with a strap-on while covering the Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself.” A fun gimmick and all, but no more shocking than whatever Marilyn Manson’s doing onstage these days. One of the few real high points was actually provided by a local performer, Louis Fleischauer of the Aesthetic Meat Foundation, who appeared with a crown of hypodermic needles through his forehead and allowed Gen and another “slave” to jerk him back and forth via chains hooked through his back and chest. The fire-breathing act just before the encore was also very entertaining.

Maybe I’m just jaded, because the Genitorturers didn’t do anything wrong. They played a nice long set, the sound was great, they didn’t screw up, and between the antics of their “slaves” and Gen’s multiple costume changes they were a lot more entertaining to watch than your average goth/metal act. It’s just that a PG-13 concert is a bit of a letdown after NC-17 hype.

The real stars of the evening were opening act Hanzel Und Gretyl, who delivered an excruciatingly tight set of faux-German industrial insanity. With Lupie’s pounding guitars, Vas Kallas’s bellowed vocals, and just enough drum ‘n’ bass in the mix to keep the crowd dancing, their blistering assault of sci-fi and sauerkraut left me with ringing ears and a mysterious urge for bratwurst. Even as an opening act, Hanzel Und Gretyl’s performance was so intense and just flat-out bizarre that it was more than worth the ticket price. I urge anyone who missed Hanzel Und Gretyl’s “Fukken Uber” tour earlier this year to see them on tour with the Genitorturers; it’ll be worth it even if you don’t stick around for the headliners.