The howling is deafening. The
screaming. The hooting. The pumping legs and shaking hips. Is it…
the real David Bowie onstage? The Thin White Duke himself?
For the first three chords
of "Ziggy Stardust" it’s hard to tell it is the house band Kitty
Stardust playing and not the rock icon. The crowd is losing it in high-decibel
ecstatic moaning. The pair of women in glow-in-the-dark earrings look
like they might faint. And everyone is shrieking the lyrics.
Ziggy played guitar!
Tonight is the fifth
annual Rock For Pussy, a David Bowie tribute extravaganza, at First
Avenue. Founded by Current DJ Mary Lucia, the evening not only serves
as a glam rock community brouhaha, but also as a fundraiser for the
Minnesota Valley Humane Society.
Fundraising strategist Adam
Mehl says he is excited about the opportunity to mix music with his
Humane Society work.
"I’ve made it a habit of
combining work with non-profits and music together," he says. "As
an organization, we’re excited to get exposure and to have the support
of local music community. With all Humane Societies, it’s really hard
to convey to people we don’t get government support."
This is the second year the
organization has linked with Rock For Pussy. But for Mehl, his Bowie
fanatisim goes way back.
"I got into Bowie with his
influence in early punk," he says.
It is a night of music and fashion. Errant Aladdin Sane lightning bolts speckle the faces in
the crowd. The pants are tight; the skirts are short. The rabid Bowie
fans in front of the stage are neon and glittering and twisting and
shimmying as if melding into one sleek creature.
On stage, it’s a different
story.
Kitty Stardust looks surprisingly
un-Bowie. Spare the lead guitarist wearing a black boa and another in
a fancy fedora, the band looks like a brood of renegade hippies in paisley
print shirts and long, flowing skirts. The drummer is donning a *cringe*
mullet. The sound, however, is right on-even including a few nice
flourishes. A slick, white Les Paul lends "Queen Bitch" a crunchier
sound than the original. "Jean Jeanie" sounds nice with raspy female
vocals. And, in some ways, watching Kitty Stardust is better than seeing
Bowie in the flesh because concert-goers don’t have to wade through
a string of new tracks in between the tried and true hits. Rock For
Pussy is all about the gems.
The show is laid-back and friendly
with a revolving door of notable locals taking spins behind the mic.
Among them are singer/songwriter Jeremy Messersmith and Minneapolis
celebrity writer Jim Walsh, who is tricked out in glittery eye makeup
for his version of "Heroes." Local popsmith Sam Keenan is the glammest
of them all in a see-through black shirt and silver choker. His version
of "DJ" is sexy and riotous, easily one of the evening’s best
renditions.
The show’s highlight is "Fame,"
played by Minneapolis goth act, All The Pretty Horses. The intro thumps
on, vamping and vamping, as two sultry waifs in scandalous police costumes
shine mini spotlights on the evening’s star, the infamous drag queen
Venus De Mars. De Mars, outfitted in a black corset, is passionate and
expressive, and best of all, extremely lewd. But it is All The Pretty
Horses’ drummer, however, who should be Rock For Pussy’s poster
boy, wearing a cat ear headband and David Bowie tee. Between the band’s
high-powered glamour and the fashion-forward audience, in that moment,
everyone looked like stars.