Preaching to the Perverted Tour' rocks city of Rochester

by Josh FeldblyumWalking into the Water Street Music Hall from the cold November air, I could see a rather large crowd gathered in front of the stage. I was still in a good mood, having just completed an interview and photo shoot with Gravity Kills, so my inability to get a good spot right in front of the stage didn’t bother me. When I got there, the stage was occupied by an interesting, but hardly mind-blowing, electronic instrumental trio called Moth. After a few songs they left, and the house tech crew draped a large black banner over the wall on the back of the stage. The one word on the banner was “Godhead.” The fun was about to begin.GodheadAfter some more time spent in preparation, the room went dark, the air in front of the stage filled with artificial fog, and a sampler on the side of the stage began pumping out a low electronic loop. When the lights came back on, the stage had been taken over by Godhead, the first band of the night’s killer lineup. Opening their set with “2000 Years of Human Error,” the title track from their current album, they quickly captured the attention and enthusiasm of their diehard fans, but didn’t do much in terms of acquiring new fans. Surprisingly, neither singer Jason Miller’s eerie stage presence, nor the band’s astounding cover of the Beatles’ classic “Eleanor Rigby,” was able to produce many converts. There were some moments when the whole audience was a little more energized, but for the most part, it was clear that to many viewers Godhead was just there in the capacity of opening band. Gravity KillsFifteen or twenty minutes after Godhead walked off the stage, Gravity Kills walked on. The crowd went wild. The band opened with a slow, grinding instrumental, and then launched into a new song called “Love, Sex, and Money” from their upcoming album “Super-starved.” Throughout Gravity Kill’s set, the audience was all over the place. The atmosphere was absolutely intense. Though it didn’t seem possible, people became even more hyped up during classics like “Guilty” and “Enough,” although their newer material was just as well received. All throughout, Gravity Kills provided a powerful performance which was met with matching audience enthusiasm. It seemed like they might have stolen the show ? until Pigface got started.Pigface Their opening was visually unimpressive ? Chris Connelly on an acoustic guitar, playing in front of a white screen which concealed the rest of the stage ? but the audience’s reception was immense. After two acoustic numbers, the white screen was removed from the stage, revealing the immense monster that is Pigface. Most of the band members were behind orange netting, which was eventually torn down, and the stage was adorned with everything from a plastic Virgin Mary to a large mass of lightbulbs arranged to spell a dirty word. As soon as the full band kicked in, the audience went wild. The cheers and shouts never stopped and the mosh pit practically doubled in size. While it was fun to hear Pigface tearing through such favorites as “Nutopia” and “Hips, Tits, Lips, Power,” the painfully high volume did detract quite a bit from their performance ? and coming from a veteran of performances by bands like Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, and MDFMK, it must have been really loud if all my prior desensitization didn’t help. Nonetheless, it was still fun to watch, especially when they pulled several fans up on stage to play along on the drums to their closing song, “Suck.”All in all, the Preaching to the Perverted tour is possibly one of the best I’ve ever been to. While Pigface owned the evening for most of the crowd, they were preceded by astounding performances from Godhead and Gravity Kills, all adding up to a fantastic show. While my ears might still be regretting the last half-hour or so, I am definitely glad I didn’t miss this show. Feldblyum can be reached at jfeldblyum@campustimes.org.