Spectacular tattooed wings sprouted from the shoulders of a girl wearing a burlesque dress who weaved amongst the crowd at the Corner Hotel. Corsets and laced black boots, ringlets and top hats had all been dusted off for the occasion.  

The Red Paintings were also attired in their Sunday best; royal blue silk kimonos, wild wigs and body paint. Off-stage, the live painting on human and traditional canvases was more than slightly distracting, but the Red Painters orchestral touch, coupled with the austere painted masks of the band members, created a suitably dramatic atmosphere. Their cover of Tears For Fears ‘Mad World’ encapsulated the eerie and intense live aesthetic.

The carnival atmosphere was revved up by a ringmaster Jason Webley, who enticed the crowd to join in his sea shanty with a nifty little trick – instead of hitting the bottle, just lift your index finger and spin around until you lose your sea legs. Now why didn’t we think of that before? His cajoling managed to get the sober Sunday crowd swaying and singing at the top of their lungs. The sideshow continued with a hula hoop contortionist and a fire eater wetting the crowd’s appetite for some musical thrills.   

The Dresden Dolls were feeling a little fragile on Sunday night. Technical problems, including an uncooperative keyboard and a high frequency drone from the speakers didn’t help sooth the strained nerves.

Complaining of jet lag, Amanda Palmer vented her frustration early in the set, crashing her fists into the keyboard mid-song and screaming “I hate this fucking piano!”  The crowd wasn’t too concerned, as Amanda’s raw and ferocious voice hardly needs a musical backing.  Her black mood gave a vivid insight into the mindset that spawns her most aggressively cathartic lyrics.

‘Sing’, ‘Coin Operated Boy’ and ‘Girl Anachronism’ crackled with energy, but some of the instrumental numbers lost momentum to the repeated false starts.

After forty minutes, Amanda’s face paint was dripping and she was obviously physically struggling in the hot and humid Corner. Testament to the strength of the Doll’s musical partnership, drummer Brian Viglione provided a vital energy boost, taking the helm on the drums to guide the duo back on course.

Reinforcements were called for, with Jason Webley lending a hand to give Bon Jovi’s ‘Living on a Prayer’ a satirical thrashing. It lifted the mood and set the stage for Amanda to return to form, belting out ‘Port of Amsterdam’ solo, as bawdy and tawdry as any sailor at port.