Written and photos by Bang Ho
The last time I was lucky enough to catch The Dresden Dolls show was in 2010 at the now-closed beautiful La Zona Rosa. The show was 12 songs long back then; seemingly to make up for the long absence –this time we were blessed with an almost double-song set that was about 2.5 hours with 22 songs. The duo played a perfect set, with classics sprinkled throughout new material, Amanda’s solo material, and some covers. It had been a decade and a half since I got to experience this magic, but it all came back to me as the pair took the stage and connected with the crowd through Amanda’s voice and piano joined with Brian’s drumming. I was wondering if Amanda would bust out a ukulele, but instead, Brian got on guitar for Amsterdam while Amanda walked through the crowd and sang, followed by “Another Christmas” which isn’t a Christmas song as much as a sad song. The show was a rollercoaster of emotions making you want to cry, shake your fist with anger, laugh, and dance with joy. This, is Punk Cabaret.
