The punk rock cabaret meets dark-musical group The Dresden Dolls have always been known for their eccentricities and hopelessly zany stage appearances. But that’s to be expected when theatre junkies start writing music isn’t it? Composed of the 30-somethings Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione, The Dresden Dolls have always prided themselves on being anything but gothic, which actually makes complete, appearances aside.

Since the very beginning, The Dresden Dolls have always stood out musically and in public; sporting pasty white porcelain doll faces and dark makeup. The best part of course has always been their music filled with spunky, sharp staccato piano melodies and phenomenal drum solos. And between the two, Palmer and Viglione have perfected a new branch of music to support their alarmingly provocative lyrics that’s both artistic and demented!

Remember when we fell upon the sweet n’ perky melody behind “Coin Operated Boy” in 2003? It certainly made their self-titled debut sky rocket, but unfortunately there hasn’t been much action coming from The Dresden Dolls, currently on hiatus, since then. Pretty much right after they offered up the mind-blowing Yes, Virginia in 2006 and ran through its subsequent tour the band fizzled, mostly due to Amanda Palmer’s up and coming solo career.

Hiatus or no hiatus, The Dresden Dolls have always made sure to leave a notable impression on their audience every chance they’ve been given. In fact, their live performances ultimately transform music into an interpretive art form. During their last tour, The Dresden Dolls took hold of London’s Roundhouse in 2007 and wowed the audience with not only a number of wicked covers, but also an outrageously strange and demented take on abortion.

During “Mandy Goes to Med School”, a song about back alley abortions, two seemingly pregnant girls come out on stage and begin to mash their bellies in with large mallets. And if you thought that was disturbing, just wait till you see what they throw out into the crowd! That’s right, mangled baby parts and candy? All in all it’s gruesome and horrifying, but at the same time it invokes extreme happiness and respect, simply because they were ballsy enough to do it. And to make things even better they break out into a 2 minute long solo that’s well, awesome.

The Dresden Dolls are certainly strange, that’s for sure. But then again it’s their weirdness that keeps us yearning for more and it’d be heresy to say otherwise.

“Mandy Goes to Med School”

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