My sister Lauren did not want to see Mindless Self Indulgence–but she did want to see The Birthday Massacre. After see-sawing on the decision, she finally decided that it was worth enduring a couple hours of the band she hates the most in order to see The Birthday Massacre, whom she really likes (she steals their Walking With Strangers album from me all the time).

My boyfriend–Mike–and I really wanted to see Mindless Self Indulgence–especially since TBM would be opening for them. I mean, how many times does it work out that two of your favorite bands would be on the same tour together? When we found out that they not only were coming to the Webster Theatre in Hartford but that Julien-K would also be opening, we had to go. Tickets were only $20, which was another good reason; with the price of gas, going out and doing things together is becoming rare.

I had been looking forward to this concert for a month. When Julien-K came onstage, vocalist Ryan Shuck (Orgy) blew me away with his amazing energy. He was everything a rockstar should be: charismatic, vibrant, and gifted with a powerful voice. He sang, danced, and got the crowd amped, making it feel as if Julien-K was the main act for the night. On guitar was Amir Derakh (also from Orgy), with Brandon Belsky on keyboards and Elias Andra, who was quite impressive on drums. Before the show I had only heard a handful of their tracks, which are being recorded for an album set for release later this year. Their set left me wanting more, and made a new fan out of my sister. Then again, Shuck and Derakh are experienced musicians. The band began as a side project when the two Orgy members decided to experiment with electronica–more specifically, dark electronica.

Next on the stage was The Birthday Massacre. Chibi (vocals) came bouncing onto stage, just as energetic as Julien-K’s Ryan Shuck, but a lot sweeter. She said hello and immediately went into a few tracks from their new album, Walking With Strangers (2007), including “Red Star,” “Kill the Lights,” “Looking Glass” and “Walking With Strangers”. They also played several of their classic songs, like “Lovers End” and “Happy Birthday”. The Toronto, Canada electronica band consists of Chibi, Rainbow on guitar, Michael Falcore also on guitar, bassist O.E., Owen on keyboards and Rhim on drums. Their set ended with Chibi thanking the audience for coming out and calling out “goodnight” as she bounced off the stage.

Later, after Mindless Self Indulgence finished their set, I had the opportunity to meet Chibi and Rainbow in the Webster’s lobby. They were both equally sweet, patiently autographing everything from tickets to jeans as well as posing for photo after photo for all of their fans. They took the time to learn each fan’s name and gave plenty of hugs. Both were glad to be going home and resting; Hartford, CT was the last stop of the tour.

As amazing and energetic as The Birthday Massacre and Julien-K were onstage, nothing compared to Mindless Self Indulgence and frontman Little Jimmy Urine. He came bouncing onto the stage, jumped up on a speaker and gave a monologue about their world tour. He borrowed everything from bunny ears to bras from the audience, and between each song made us laugh as if we were watching a standup comedy routine. At one point, he told us he had good news and bad news. The good news was, he said, they were going to systematically murder us all. The bad news? While systematically murdering us all, they were going to play more “bad music”.

With Steve, Righ? on guitar, Lyn-Z on bass and Kitty on drums, Mindless Self Indulgence put on an act while performing old favorites. They opened with “Shut Me Up” and played “1989,” “Faggot,” “Straight to Video,” “Bitches” and “Stupid MF”, from their You’ll Rebel to Anything and Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy albums. They also played tracks from their new album, If: “Never Wanted to Dance,” “Get it Up” and “Lights Out”. During “Get it Up,” Jimmy and wife Chantel (Morning Wood)–who did backup vocals on the album–performed a skit along to the song. The skit–which was probably a little too adult for a 12+ show–was cute, in a Mindless Self Indulgence kind of way.

After the show, I ran into Chantel but couldn’t get her attention as she headed backstage. Jimmy came out for a bit and signed autographs off of the stage, but unfortunately we couldn’t get to him before he had to go backstage. However, I did get to chat with Steve, Righ?, who was first to sign my ticket. I told him they’d better come back to Hartford, and he gave me a sweet smile and lightly pinched my cheek.

All three artists were equally sweet, friendly and reminded me of old friends. They were more than happy to make their fans happy, and to me that is worth more than just seeing them play.

Lauren, by the way, is now a Mindless Self Indulgence fan; she thoroughly enjoyed the show and added some MSI songs to her Project Playlist.

For more information on the bands–including their biographies and discographies–check out these sites:

MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE
www.myspace.com/mindlessselfindulgence
www.mindlessselfindulgence.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mindless-Self-Indulgence/5882622093
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindless_Self_Indulgence

THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE
www.myspace.com/thebirthdaymassacre
http://www.thebirthdaymassacre.com/
http://vampirefreaks.com/u/thebirthdaymassacre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birthday_Massacre

JULIEN-K
www.myspace.com/julienk
http://www.julienk.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Julien-K/8511506186
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julien-K