The Residents post Variety Playhouse show
Download the Residents Atlanta stop on their genuinely creepy Talking light tour
In retrospect two things stand out about the Residents’ Talking Light show at Variety Playhouse on Fri., Feb. 5. First it was a very musical performance. The theatrical elements and costumes were in full force, but the audience interaction between rounds of post-industrial melodies and warped guitar, keyboard and sampler arrangements added a strangely compelling new dimension to the band’s mystique. Not to mention old man Randy’s presence at the front and center of the stage brought this strange experiment to a fine point.
Secondly, it was creepy as hell. Most of the material they performed comes from Ten Little Piggies, but there were a few classics, like their cover of Hank Williams’ “Six More Miles to the Graveyard” worked in as well. Live each song was interspersed with ghost stories, tales of devious imaginary siblings and sinister mirror people, all sewn together like scenes from a beautiful nightmare.
The show is available for download via The Residents’ website for cheap ($7.99) and comes as an uncut, unaltered soundboard recording. The quality is good, but it’s not meant for the faint of heart as much of what they played was genuinely scary.