Viennagram at Snookers
by Dan Verrier
Well, it’s happened. For once, somebody isn’t just lamenting the city’s dead music scene, but actually doing something about it. Singer, songwriter, and emcee extraordinaire Dan White, with the help of the good people at Snookers, is arranging the rebirth of the performance space formerly known as the Green Room. The first of what will hopefully be a long line of shows happened on Saturday, November 18th, and if you didn’t go, you should be pissed.
It opened with Will Brierly, who filled his half hour with songs of love, adventure, etc. As part of his on-stage banter, he told a story about his friend getting thrown in the drunk tank, which left him stranded in the middle of the night, and going home to find that his kitten had died. Yeah, that kind of adventure.
Then, the Viennagram took the stage, along with some painting materials. After the first song, members of the Danger Danger Birds came out, standing very still for what seemed like a heroically long time to someone as fidgety as myself, then began their dance. It was amazing how the band and the girls, who’d never performed together before, melded so well.
The Birds showed more skin than usual, starting off in red coats, but shedding everything from their torsos, save for pasties. Eventually, the reason for this became plain. You knew there’d be a finished painting by the end of the show—you didn’t know there’d be three; as the band played on, their backing vocalist/painter took his brush to the girls’ backs, producing surprisingly good faces on both.
Later, they tore off his clothes, under which he’d also been wearing lingerie, and painted him a little. The drummer/singer invited the crowd to climb up on stage and slap or kiss him. Some drunken lunatic actually did (and it earned me a dollar and a free CD). In short, it was a show not to be missed, both for the amazing performances by all involved, and for what it means—the rebirth of a venue.
