Impression on the Skinny Puppy show last night.
Their final tour. An actual homecoming gig for Nivek Ogre who as mentioned, is from Calgary, Alberta. He talked about his high school days in the city, and dedicated the last song of the night to his brother who still lives in the city as well.
I was rather impressed with Paul Barker's live set up, including all the visual he had going. Definitely more on the slower to mid tempo, spacious dub, doom vibes to his Lead Into Gold material. Live bass lines in effect. Its interesting to consider that some of the units & effect boxes Barker & Holley use on stage could easily be their own company builds as via their Molekko projects. As mentioned in the Cevin Key, Barker conversation video above, it appears this final Skinny Puppy tour was planned to specifically invite Barker as the guest, thus the 2023 Lead into Gold album was specifically created for the tour. Nice. Paul still uses the characteristic, Wax Trax! era, Ministry, Revolting Cocks, etc. drum machine sounds in some of the songs. Elsewhere, the lone kick drum in the tunes were insane. And yes, very much a pleasure to meet him & exchange words. Perhaps my personal highlight of the night.
Skinny Puppy.
The merch line was insane. Once their set started, the merch line up vanished! Merch consumed in seconds by yours truly! ha. My cousin attended the Edmonton, Alberta show the night before, and said the Calgary gig was better. He's also traveled to other cities in the past to see Puppy on previous tours. The show is camp as hell, corny even. YET, Puppy is all about theatrics & drama. Forever putting on storyline shows & albums, Ogre has been a prop performer from day one. I assume the only time Puppy has played in Calgary was in 1986 with Severed Heads? I went to high school with people who attended the show, only hearing small details of the gig. 1986 tour poster via tape-mag.com. Puppy has seemingly opted to play Edmonton more than Calgary in their formative years. And likewise, didn't play extensively in Vancouver either over the decades.
![[Image: Skinny_Puppy_Severed_Heads_Dig_It_Bigot_1986.jpg]](https://www.tape-mag.com/bilder/gross/Skinny_Puppy_Severed_Heads_Dig_It_Bigot_1986.jpg)
The Puppy stage show story line for the 2023 final tour is about alien characters, with Ogre in an alien costume for the majority of the show, with a villain trying to capture, torture and berate him until the final death via hanging, while also providing live video for stage projections in the process. I often had a smile on my face at the ridiculousness of it all, putting myself in the position of the venue staff who are unfamiliar with the spectacle unfolding before them! LOL. Entertaining YES. Cheesy, OF COURSE! That's rock'n'roll right? heh. The intro scenes on stage are very similar to early Puppy shows in the 80's with Ogre starting the show behind a hospital room privacy screen of sorts, highlighting his shadow movements before the reveal. I sense a continued aspect of Puppy shows was to carry on that entrance tradition of sorts. Very much a debauched, sci-fi visual story line to the show, which also carried on to some of the merch graphics and all. I saw it like a final cartoon version to the Puppy saga that I've watched for decades afar, and appreciate Ogre's 40 years of stage prop performances, no matter how obscene in the past, to more light hearted affair such as the final tour presentations. Well done sir! Decades of Puppy fans salute you Ogre!
It was great to hear "Vx Gas Attack" in the beginning of the set, "Dig It" was amazing. "Tormentor", "Human Disease S.K.U.M.M", "Morpheus Laughing" and more. Cevin Key is a wonder to watch, surround by his synth set up, commander in chief since day one, overseeing the entire affair. Live guitarist via Matthew Setzer (Kanga, Ohgr, Evestus, etc), and drummer Justin Bennet (Peter Murphy, Rozz Williams, Thrill Kill Kult, Ohgr, etc) rounded out the band to amazing results! Witnessing Puppy music live is a lesson in layering, as everything is happening before you. Details all a part of the execution. Once Ogre was symbolically killed off in the alien garb character, the band return for the encores, sans alien costume. Hearing "Assimilate" and "Smothered Hope" in the encore was a moment, as it did hit me personally how important Puppy has been in my life as a music fan, electronic music and all. Paul Barker is only the icing on that cake for me! Loved it.
In the end.
Front 242 put on a better show on their final tour set I saw October 2022. Their energy is insane. Skinny Puppy is always more conceptual, more to wrap your head around with theatric ebbs & flows. Front 242 may operate in a sound system style of performance, and are FULL on from the jump, where as Puppy is definitely more rock band in aesthetics. In a live setting, Front 242 for the win! Perhaps disco does win in the end after all.
Cool?
Their final tour. An actual homecoming gig for Nivek Ogre who as mentioned, is from Calgary, Alberta. He talked about his high school days in the city, and dedicated the last song of the night to his brother who still lives in the city as well.
I was rather impressed with Paul Barker's live set up, including all the visual he had going. Definitely more on the slower to mid tempo, spacious dub, doom vibes to his Lead Into Gold material. Live bass lines in effect. Its interesting to consider that some of the units & effect boxes Barker & Holley use on stage could easily be their own company builds as via their Molekko projects. As mentioned in the Cevin Key, Barker conversation video above, it appears this final Skinny Puppy tour was planned to specifically invite Barker as the guest, thus the 2023 Lead into Gold album was specifically created for the tour. Nice. Paul still uses the characteristic, Wax Trax! era, Ministry, Revolting Cocks, etc. drum machine sounds in some of the songs. Elsewhere, the lone kick drum in the tunes were insane. And yes, very much a pleasure to meet him & exchange words. Perhaps my personal highlight of the night.
Skinny Puppy.
The merch line was insane. Once their set started, the merch line up vanished! Merch consumed in seconds by yours truly! ha. My cousin attended the Edmonton, Alberta show the night before, and said the Calgary gig was better. He's also traveled to other cities in the past to see Puppy on previous tours. The show is camp as hell, corny even. YET, Puppy is all about theatrics & drama. Forever putting on storyline shows & albums, Ogre has been a prop performer from day one. I assume the only time Puppy has played in Calgary was in 1986 with Severed Heads? I went to high school with people who attended the show, only hearing small details of the gig. 1986 tour poster via tape-mag.com. Puppy has seemingly opted to play Edmonton more than Calgary in their formative years. And likewise, didn't play extensively in Vancouver either over the decades.
The Puppy stage show story line for the 2023 final tour is about alien characters, with Ogre in an alien costume for the majority of the show, with a villain trying to capture, torture and berate him until the final death via hanging, while also providing live video for stage projections in the process. I often had a smile on my face at the ridiculousness of it all, putting myself in the position of the venue staff who are unfamiliar with the spectacle unfolding before them! LOL. Entertaining YES. Cheesy, OF COURSE! That's rock'n'roll right? heh. The intro scenes on stage are very similar to early Puppy shows in the 80's with Ogre starting the show behind a hospital room privacy screen of sorts, highlighting his shadow movements before the reveal. I sense a continued aspect of Puppy shows was to carry on that entrance tradition of sorts. Very much a debauched, sci-fi visual story line to the show, which also carried on to some of the merch graphics and all. I saw it like a final cartoon version to the Puppy saga that I've watched for decades afar, and appreciate Ogre's 40 years of stage prop performances, no matter how obscene in the past, to more light hearted affair such as the final tour presentations. Well done sir! Decades of Puppy fans salute you Ogre!
It was great to hear "Vx Gas Attack" in the beginning of the set, "Dig It" was amazing. "Tormentor", "Human Disease S.K.U.M.M", "Morpheus Laughing" and more. Cevin Key is a wonder to watch, surround by his synth set up, commander in chief since day one, overseeing the entire affair. Live guitarist via Matthew Setzer (Kanga, Ohgr, Evestus, etc), and drummer Justin Bennet (Peter Murphy, Rozz Williams, Thrill Kill Kult, Ohgr, etc) rounded out the band to amazing results! Witnessing Puppy music live is a lesson in layering, as everything is happening before you. Details all a part of the execution. Once Ogre was symbolically killed off in the alien garb character, the band return for the encores, sans alien costume. Hearing "Assimilate" and "Smothered Hope" in the encore was a moment, as it did hit me personally how important Puppy has been in my life as a music fan, electronic music and all. Paul Barker is only the icing on that cake for me! Loved it.
In the end.
Front 242 put on a better show on their final tour set I saw October 2022. Their energy is insane. Skinny Puppy is always more conceptual, more to wrap your head around with theatric ebbs & flows. Front 242 may operate in a sound system style of performance, and are FULL on from the jump, where as Puppy is definitely more rock band in aesthetics. In a live setting, Front 242 for the win! Perhaps disco does win in the end after all.
Cool?