November 23, 2009 Music+Clubs » Live Reviews

Glam racket: Genitorturers and company 

Notes and images from the Music Farm, Nov. 22

by T. Ballard Lesemann
click to enlarge The Genitorturers at the Farm
  • T. Ballard Lesemann
  • The Genitorturers at the Farm
           
 

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The Genitorturers, Sex Slaves, Torture Town
Music Farm
Nov. 22

Tampa-based goth-rock band The Genitorturers brought their slick stage show and a few polished, modernistic glam-pop tunes to the Music Farm Sunday night — a weird and amusing night of strange rock twists.

Lead singer Gen stalked the stage in front of a spiky-haired trio of rocker dudes who looked like composites of Billy Idol's guitarist Steve Stevens and Motley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. They opened with their latest single, "Cum Junkie," which grossed-out half of the old geezers in the crowd. Their saturated guitar/drum sound, industrial-strength disco sample-beats, and silly gestures and poses were harmlessly amusing — nothing too exciting, erotic, or frightening, really (although, the drummer's Tommy Clufetos-esque stick waving seemed impressive). Gen's nearly bare-naked rear end caught a few looks. The young fans seemed to love it all.

In the middle slot of the bill, New York City trio Sex Slaves — a costumed power-pop act masquerading as a teeny-bopper punk/metal band — hoped to convey a whiskey-soaked (referring to the song "Thank God for Jack Daniels"), bad-ass rocker image, kinda along the lines of Blink 182, Poison, and Nine Inch Nails. They came off too polite to be taken as genuine bad boys, though. Their cherry-red amp cabinets, "punk" costumes, and angular hairdos were a big hit with the dancing young ladies in the small crowd, but I preferred watching drummer J-Bomb do his Tommy Lee-meets-Clem Burke-meets-Terry Bozzio thing on his double-pedal, red-velvet-covered kit.

Comprised of three Charleston workhorse players, Torture Town's simple, raw, bam-bam opening set early in the evening rocked with a totally different kind of grind and groove ... no special effects, phony hangman's nooses, fake blood, fishnet shirts, hair gel, etc. They looked really funny and amusingly out-of-place situated right in front of the Sex Slaves' massive backdrop.

For some, the glammed-up faux mayhem of the Sex Slaves and The Genitorturers was a blast. For others (including the old guard from the Coleman Boulevard music scene), the decidedly unglamorous opening set did the trick.

The Genitorturers from Charleston City Paper on Vimeo.

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funny? amusingly out of place? i'll show you funny, little man.

Posted by street d on November 23, 2009 at 11:54 PM | Report this comment

Good point, Ron! Although late-night Saturdays get a little hairy and weird at some of the gnarliest bars along Coleman … Gen was a great performer — fearless and striking — but her band seemed to be chugging through the motions. Tight, but not exactly thrilling.

Posted by TBLesemann on November 23, 2009 at 11:51 PM | Report this comment
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The Genitorturers had a great set. Gen is a great performer and that was an incredible night. Jumping on a guy suspended by hooks through his flesh and swaying to and fro isn't your average stripped down Coleman Boulevard scene band set contribution, but damn, it's fun!

Posted by RonHouse on November 23, 2009 at 9:19 PM | Report this comment

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