Spring Break
Cultists flock to World/Inferno at the Ottobar
Issue date: 4/26/07
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The Ottobar has long been a haven for punks, anarchists, and a rainbow of music lovers in between. This Saturday the much-loved venue on Howard St. drew in more than its fair share of the anarchist side of that rainbow for the World/Inferno Friendship Society's show. Mohawks deluged in a fog of sweet-smelling hairspray and facial piercings and tattoos accumulated in small groups, waiting through three opening bands and nearly two and a half hours for the beloved cult band to come on.
The World/Inferno Friendship Society has been described as a cabaret/circus/gypsy punk outfit from Brooklyn, N.Y. They're known across the East Coast for their rabid fan-base, onstage antics, and general disregard for just about everything. Their trademark is an ever-fluctuating array of members (usually averaging around eight or nine on stage at a time, even though the group has had almost 30 members in the past) some of which have been involved in groups like Dexy's Midnight Runners, Kid Casanova and the Hold Steady.
At 12:30 a.m. the band filed on stage, taking their places behind the clutter of instruments. The excitement in the room escalated tenfold. Teenagers from the county (made painfully apparent by the minivan they drove up in) crowded the front of the stage, outfitted in silk ballgowns and tuxedos and sharply cut, sweep-away bangs. Jack Terricloth, the band's lead singer and one of its longest-lasting members, took the stage, bottle of wine in hand, and growled his introduction into the mic: "We are the World … Inferno … Friendship … Society!" Cue a massive rush to the stage as devoted fans offered their outstretched hands, a ritual for seasoned Inferno followers. World/Inferno opened with one of their regular intro songs which resulted in melodic chanting from the enthusiastic crowd. The deafening roar of the crowd was purely orgasmic. I can't even imagine what it must be like to be the band onstage, having hordes of youngsters, and one grizzled hippie throwing themselves at your feet. Empowering? Probably.
The World/Inferno Friendship Society has been described as a cabaret/circus/gypsy punk outfit from Brooklyn, N.Y. They're known across the East Coast for their rabid fan-base, onstage antics, and general disregard for just about everything. Their trademark is an ever-fluctuating array of members (usually averaging around eight or nine on stage at a time, even though the group has had almost 30 members in the past) some of which have been involved in groups like Dexy's Midnight Runners, Kid Casanova and the Hold Steady.
At 12:30 a.m. the band filed on stage, taking their places behind the clutter of instruments. The excitement in the room escalated tenfold. Teenagers from the county (made painfully apparent by the minivan they drove up in) crowded the front of the stage, outfitted in silk ballgowns and tuxedos and sharply cut, sweep-away bangs. Jack Terricloth, the band's lead singer and one of its longest-lasting members, took the stage, bottle of wine in hand, and growled his introduction into the mic: "We are the World … Inferno … Friendship … Society!" Cue a massive rush to the stage as devoted fans offered their outstretched hands, a ritual for seasoned Inferno followers. World/Inferno opened with one of their regular intro songs which resulted in melodic chanting from the enthusiastic crowd. The deafening roar of the crowd was purely orgasmic. I can't even imagine what it must be like to be the band onstage, having hordes of youngsters, and one grizzled hippie throwing themselves at your feet. Empowering? Probably.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 2
scott
posted 5/13/07 @ 8:49 PM EST
are you kidding? the confetti is an ESSENTIAL tradition. it's always thrown up at the same point in the one song.
And the stage blood was my moron friend who almost ruined my suit. (Continued…)
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