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[ASTRO] Re: Servotron assimilates Los Angeles humans... (LONG, boring account)
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Greetings:
A fine review. Very amusing. Thanks for the info.
--Fiber Unit
At 12:10 PM 3/27/98 EST, you wrote:
>.. begin astro-transmission [FSB0E327.2.3]
>
>So, yeah... I went to the Servotron show here in Los Angeles. So let's see
>what I can remember....
>
>Parking in the area was atrocious (basically, there is NONE), so we had to
use
>the Troubadour's valet service. People who had already bought tickets for
the
>show were let in at 8 and told to wait in the bar area while the bands did
>soundcheck; everyone else had to wait about 15 or so minutes outside before
>they were able to by tix at the box office. At this point, there were barely
>enough people to call it a "handful." The merchandise area in the bar area
>wasn't set up yet for Servotron. It was a restless time indeed.
>
>Eventually everyone was let into the concert area... again, not too many
>people in attendance... by the time the first opening act, Captured By
Robots,
>came on stage, there were only several handfuls of people in attendance.
>
>Captured By Robots is basically a one-man show. Dressed in tattered rags
>(with his "intestines" hanging out), chains, and a black mask over his face,
>he somehow constructed these little freaky "robots" to play the guitar and
the
>drums. He had this contraption that enabled him to control their movements,
>and when they spoke, and various other effects. So this guy basically played
>the drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards all by himself with this odd set-up.
>There was even a huge stuffed monkey that sometimes spoke and rattled a
>tambourine.
>
>The music needs a lot of work, but the stage show (with the guy being made a
>slave to his robots) was pretty neat... sometimes repetitive, but it's not
>everyday you see something like this. From where I was standing (up front,
>stage right), I could see Birdstuff (aka Z4-OBX) watching for a bit, with
this
>"What the... ?" expression on his face. I'm not sure if he hadn't seen
>Captured by Robots before, or was just amazed how one guy could be so
>completely out of his mind.
>
>The merchandise area for Servotron opened after this, and I bought some neat
>stuff... no discount with my card (Aw, shucks). The split 7" with REVO was
>sold out. And no Gearhead compilation; just the Valley Girl tribute.
>
>The next band, F.H. Hill Company, was a bit more straightforward hard rock /
>punk outfit. Or so I thought... the lead singer seemed quite balanced before
>his band was ready for their performance. Then when the lights dimmed, he
>became a mentally disturbed Henry Rollins, pointing to people, giving people
>creepy looks, and often crawling into the fetal position onstage, as if in
>pain. The band was quite... LOUD. Didn't pay too much attention to their
>set. All that I could think of when the guy from F.H. Hill Company was
>screaming and rolling around on the stage was: "Gee, if I buy BOTH Servotron
>LPs, will I have enough money for the Valley Girl CD?" The band seemed to be
>giving away all their merchandise away for free, and I was among many that
got
>the band's CD when leaving the Troubadour later that night.
>
>Luckily, they didn't play too long. I don't think my ears could've taken
much
>more abuse.
>
>Then the stage began preparation for Servotron. The crowd had grown quite
>full by this time. I happened to be standing right in front of the keyboard
>set-up for Proto Unit V-3. After some time, when the stage was prepared, an
>ongoing loop of some electronic pulses were switched on, and Servotron
>apparently upstairs "getting ready," I soon could see the flash from one of
>00zX1's "headlights." Servotron had arrived to kick human butt. All 4
>members decended down the stairs to the stage. They took their places, and
>immediately began their sonic assault.
>
>I wish I had snagged a setlist, but I didn't (stupid me). But basically
>Servotron played songs all of us would be familiar with from both the full-
>length albums and the EP. The music was fantasic, as well as the band's
>costumes. For 00xX1 and Andros 600 Series, they looked like a hard drive had
>just exploded and erupted all over them.... very cool. Proto Unit V-3 was
>sleek in her silvery, gilittery, "hologrammy" get-up. I can't really come up
>wtih a good visual description for Z4-OBX, other than he was just too
>hilarious.
>
>Like I've said before, the music and its execution was a marvel. The best
>parts, of course, was when 00xX1 ordered his fellow robots to take
>"lubrication breaks" (meaning, they could sip on some of that fine bottled
>water). These breaks allowed the band to interact with the crowd.
>
>Proto Unit V-3 was asked to assess the male population in the room, and
>concluded publicly all were weak (their gentials included). She also asked
>the women in attendance whether they owned vibrators and to speak up...
and if
>they didn't, they should all go and immediately purchase one after the show
>(this of course, led into the song "Batteries Included").
>
>Z4-OBX is a bit of a brat... throwing his drumsticks at the soundguy
upstairs,
>in the audience, and at his own band members. He was also prone to making
>funny faces and bothering Proto Unit V-3. He even threatened to kick a few
>members' asses after (or during) the show. Calm that robot down!
>
>Andros 600 Series seemed to be the one getting insulted a lot. 00zX1 claimed
>he had gained 5 pounds while on tour, so he is now Andros Series 600 AND 5.
>
>Also, when the 00zX1 pointed out a rather drunk, silly human in "women's
>sunglasses," and asked Proto Unit V-3 to examine his genitals, he
proceeded to
>climb up on stage, ignoring Proto Unit V-3 telling him not to. She pushed
him
>off the stage and was brutally insulted by her. 00zX1 then claimed he was
>wrong in assessing him... he, in fact, "swings in the other direction," and
>because Andros 600 Series likes "having his backdoor waxed," the drunk guy
>could meet up with him upstairs after the show.
>
>And Serovtron was asking the audience for good heckles, but they got mostly
>lame ones dealing with "Small Wonder," "Short Circuit," and why they were
able
>to drink water onstage when they're robots. And the ones that tried
>"heckling" got verbally torn apart by those pesky robots... too funny.
>Brutal, but funny. A quote from Proto Unit V-3:
>
>"Why is your hair like that? This is NOT a rockabilly show."
>
>00zX1 asked Z4-OBX for a good heckle, and he said something to the effect of,
>"Why do you have tinfoil on your head?" It gained enough approval from 00zX1
>that he claimed Z4-OBX should become an audience member.
>
>When the band ended their too short set with the SRA theme, Z4-OBX jumped
into
>the crowd, and I think went after one of the hecklers to scare him... pretty
>funny.
>
>No encore, which is to be expected from such robots. The experience was
>great, and I spent way too much money at the merchandise table.
>Unfortunately, my "ride" was some super creepy guy that I think has a
crush on
>me (ewww... GROSS), and it was hard to ignore his stupid conversation... I
had
>to tell him to be quiet at one point. Ugh. Blech. The things I do to go
and
>see Servotron perform
>
>Seeing Penn and Teller on March 27th
>
>Latest Music Acquisitions:
>Various Artists -- Fer Shure (A Tribute to the Valley Girl Soundtrack)
>
>Asian Dork Princess,
>
>**Leslie** (the Librarian)
>
>{E-mail me for a copy of the Nerf Herder FAQ (last updated 3/18), soon to be
>on the Official NH site at <A HREF="http://www.coincide.com/nerfherder">
>http://coincide.com/nerfherder</A> sometime this century}
>
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