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ooc: I meant to post this last night. Be my best friends and pretend that I did.
Live from Las Vegas: Vile Hour
 erica kobayashi
The lights come up on the stage, and Nichole and Castor walk out. The stage features only their piano and drums - the classic Vile Hour setup. Nichole is dressed in a black The Who t-shirt and thigh-highs with a garter belt over a pair of black shorts. Castor's outfit is a bit more simple - a loose button-up black shirt, khaki pants, and his famous bowler hat. Both of their faces are painted white with bright pink blush on their cheeks. Nichole has the added touch of bright red lipstick. The crowd roars as they walk to the center of the stage, each with a bouquet of yellow daisies. They throw their bouquets into the audience and a mass of bodies swarm to catch fight over them. They both laugh a little and hug each other before going to their respective instruments - Nichole on the piano and Castor on the drums. A woman in the audience screams, "Fuck me, Castor!" to which Castor responds with a theatrically over-dramatic shrug. The lights go out except for two spotlights directly on Nichole and Castor as Nichole plays the first notes of My Future Twentieth High School Reunion. The crowd sings along with them in this song, and almost every other song of the show. Every movement Nichole and Castor make are dramatic and passionate, like it's the last move they'll ever make. There's no lack of emotion in this performance. They are living art.Well, you know
You can never have it all
No, you can never have it all
But who wants that kind of weight now?
And I hear
She's a model now, my friend
She's a model now, my friend
Living on disorders, cigarettes, and lettuce
In the apartment she shares
With Cindy, her friend
With Cindy, her friend
And all the songs she knows now are catcalls
And you know she can never have it all
No, she can never have it all
She's so far away
From that eisteddfod
And Joe says he saw the captain in the dole line
School captain in the dole line
And he swears he's a broken man
Still missing his ex-girlfriend
Still loving his ex-girlfriend
It's been seven years
But he thinks there's still a chance
  
And you know he can never have it all
No, he can never have it all
He's so far away
From that regatta
And she listens
To the weather now, my friend
To the weather now, my friend
Got to worry about the children's sweaters
In the playground with their friends
And the children of her friends
Who she thinks are spoiled brats
But who's telling Sarah?
And she knows they can never have it all
No, they can never have it all
They're so far away
From the breadline
Now I'm kissing Tom's new lover at the bar
Yes, my new lover at the bar
Guess I've learned fuck all since high school
Oh, yes, I've learned fuck all since high school
And you know we can never have it all
No, we can never have it all
But sure, I'm sure, I'm sure, I'm sure
We're all pretending The song comes to an end, and Nichole looks wide eyed at Castor, smiling brightly. The crowd was loving them, and that made them want to be even better. Without too much of a pause between song, Nichole starts to count them off. "One, two... One, two, three, four!" She starts to play the first couple notes of Home. As she does, Two long, purple scarves fall from the roof of the center of the stage, one end attached to the roof while the other end lays on the ground. A woman with shoulder-length red hair and a black and white striped jumper on enters the stage and approaches the scarf to the beat of the song. Vile Hour has always incorporated circus or theatrical themes into their shows, and their crowd loves it when they do. The redhead begins the climb the scarves and does an aerial show for the crowd while Vile Hour plays Home. The song and the aerial performance work so well together as Nichole sings about how she'll never go home, and how she's battling this life-threatening depression while the performer showcases her own life-threatening acts to the crowd. Several of the positions the performer puts herself in involve tying herself up and letting herself hang precariously over the stage by different body parts, or hanging upside down and swinging herself back and forth. The performer seems to mimic the emotions that Nichole is expressing in the song of hopelessness and lack of control (while, of course, the performer has full control over what she does in her act, her acting ability makes it seem like the scarves are controlling her more than she is controlling them). At Nichole's last line, "No one can drag me / Home," the performer spreads her legs open between the two scarves and spins herself in circles, her body held up by upper body strength alone as the song ends.I went to New York and paid lots of money
To stay in the silence and not play for anyone
I picked up a bar tab and drank myself stupid
I flirted with strangers just to feel attractive
I stood on a rooftop and looked to the skyline
The cloud started rolling in as I started to say
"Goodbye" to my grandfather, who's at home dying
The rain started in and I was left crying
Because I've got to maintain the madness
Just so the stillness makes sense to me
I've got to keep the momentum rolling along
So that no one can stop me
No one can drag me
Home
I went to San Francisco with my best friend
To sing in a bar full of gay women who wanted me
But they did not know me, though they though I sang prettily
I made love to the microphone so they would not feel
So empty inside on this wintry night
In this city of madman and loners and stoners
And lovers forgotten in favor of rotten misfortunes with money
But I still went home alone
Because I've got to maintain the madness
Just so the stillness makes sense to me
I've got to keep the momentum rolling along
So that no one can stop me
No one can drag me
Home
  
In this very room, where some of my favorite songs have been written
I'm writing this one
To sing and remember
These days in December
Where I have surrendered
I'm not pretending
To stay still
So next week, I'll go to Iceland
Then onto London
And into the arms of my favorite stranger
And then onward
Because I cannot, I will not, I cannot, I will not, I will not, I cannot
I will never stop
Because I've got to maintain the madness
Just so the stillness makes sense to me
I've got to keep the momentum rolling along
So that no one can stop me
No one can drag me
Home The performer rolls her body down the scarves gracefully until her feet can touch the floor of the stage, where she then unties herself from the cloth and turns to exits off stage, waving to the very appreciative crowd. "The beautiful Miss. Juliane Baier, everybody!" Nichole introduce the performer as she walks off, the crowd cheering louder.
Castor, understandably, takes off his shirt and throws it into the audience. He already has sweat pouring down himself from his chaotic and passionate drumming. Two girls near the front of the stage begin fighting over the shirt. "How are you guys doing tonight?" he asks the crowd, who answers with an excitable group of cheers. "That's awesome. Because we're going to ask you guys for a little vocalization next."
"Yes, that's right!" Nichole says, taking a drink of water from a water bottle next to her piano and nodding. "Yes, this will be one of several times we will ask for a little audience participation... Although, of course, you're welcome to sing along any time you fucking want. It's a fucking rock show." Nichole plays a little piano trille before turning to Castor. "Castor, hunny, will you count us off, please?"
Castor obliges, yelling out, "One, two, one, two, three, four," before both of them launch into the, "Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum"'s of Sympathies with Satan. The crowd recognizes the words immediately, and begin to cheer loudly.
Nichole and Castor sing the first set of the vocal chorus, and then Nichole raises her hand to the audience as a sign that it's their turn to sing now. Although most of the crowd sings back, Nichole shakes her head in disappointment. "Let's try that one more time. Be louder!" She repeats the same process, this time the crowd echoing back at an almost deafening volume. Nichole whispers, "Perfect," into the mic before screaming, "One, two, three, four!" and starting the open notes to Sympathies with Satan.See, the debt collector's coming
He's come to break my fingers
So I can't play piano any, any more
And see, the debt collector's coming
He's come to take my tongue
So I can't sing any songs any more
I'll just go, "Ah-ha-ah-ha-ah"
To the top of the pop charts
"Ah-ha-ah-ha-ah"
In your iPods
"Ah-ha-ah"
That's the sound of silence,
Simon and Garfunkel
And see, the Grim Reaper is coming
He's sharpening his scythe
Until he can see his own reflection
And you see, the Grim Reaper is crying
His business is down the drain
Because people can do it so much quicker
And cheaper, and better...
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Oh
And Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Oh
And, you see, our Savior's second coming
He's such a selfish bastard
Some of us don't even get to come once
And you see, his fans know to avoid my house now
Because I've signed a sealed deal with Satan
To just love everybody that I can
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Oh
And Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Oh
And you see, I think the Grim Reaper should go after
That fucking debt collector
So I can sing whenever I fucking goddamn well please
And our Savior should just make love to Satan
So both can see that either
Are intolerable
Without the other...
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Oh
And Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Oh
And Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Oh
And Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Ba-da-dum-bum, ba-dum, ba-dum
Oh... The song comes at an end with the audience singing the last verses alone, growing louder and more confident with every line until the song comes to an end, and they erupt into cheers for themselves and for Vile Hour. Nichole and Castor clap for the audience and their fantastic participation before wordlessly transitioning into playing So Pretty; So Lonely. The lights on them suddenly have a blue filter over them, setting the mood for the mellow song.
As the song comes to an end, the lights come back to their normal color and Nichole lets out a small sigh of happiness, very relaxed in this atmosphere. "Hello, everybody, we are Vile Hour, if you didn't know," she says into the mic with a laugh. The crowd responds in a screaming cheer. "My name is Nichole Shade, and the man on drums is the fantastically handsome Castor Drake." Castor stands up from his drums and gives a very dramatic bow to the audience. "And, obviously, we're very very fucking excited to be here. We're only a few nights in, and already Warped Tour has been one of the best times we've ever had, so thank you so much for coming, all of you." She runs her fingers lightly across the piano, playing a couple of notes softly. "So, we'd like to dedicate this next song to you - our audience -, and to, um, Vans, I guess, for Warped Tour... And to..." She pauses, not sure who else to add.
"And to ponies," Castor adds softly in his own mic, creating a large reaction from the crowd who loves to hear Castor speak. Nichole, being the singer, has always been the main face of Vile Hour, so when Castor has something to say, it's usually pretty exciting to most fans.
Nichole laughs at Castor's add and whispers, "Fuck you," before they start playing Here in Detroit. Although the song isn't an especially happy one, it is a very upbeat one, and there's a lot of happiness of Nichole and Castor's face as they play.I wake with you hand on my shoulder
It's colder outside, where they don't know we're naked
And all of your friends leave messages
That suggest we should not be doing what we're doing
But we do not care, and where there is air, we'll be breathing
Believe me, where there's warmth, we'll share
And why are you not in Detroit?
It's colder here, you know
And the stars are obscured by the sky
And why are you not in Detroit?
There's art in the streets
Put your feet somewhere close to my floor
And why
Are you
Not in Detroit?
Under the house of someone I once slept with
We wept on the inside, the outside kept talking
Because we knew we'd fit together like continents
In the eyes of children who've just learned geography
And I had a lover
And you had a ticket
We wickedly took off with the few hours left to us
And still you're not here in Detroit
It's colder here, you know
And the stars aren't as obscured by the sky
And why are you still not in Detroit?
There's art in the streets
Put your feet somewhere close to my floor
And why
Are you still
Not in Detroit?
  
I caught you peeking
When you thought I'd be sleeping
We caught not a wink
For the heat we were breathing
No, there was no rest
But at least we weren't arrested
For teaching the children about the birds and the bees
Or the birds and the birds
But I wish you had turned when I had turned back
I'd turn back the clocks if I thought we could stay still long enough
So maybe it's good
You're not here in Detroit
It's colder here, you see
And the stars aren't as bright as you'd like
But still, there's a place for you in Detroit
My heart's on my sleeve
Wish you feet would come darken my door
You
You and me
I mean, we
Could both be
Here in Detroit
Here in Detroit
Here in Detroit Both of them look exhausted and drenched in sweat by the time the song is over, and the show isn't even halfway done yet. "Thank you so much," Nichole sounds, out of breath, to the audience with a smile. She pauses for a moment, looking down at her keyboard, and then back up at the crowd. "I forgot what I wanted to play next..." she admits with a laugh, and the crowd responds by yelling out requests. "Wait, only one of you talk at a time, I can't hear you," she says jokingly as she leans in, trying to make out specific requests. "Oh! I heard the song I wanted to play! Okay, yes! Here to go! Onward!" Nichole turns her head to Castor and mouths the name of the song, and Castor nods before beginning to play My Phoenixes. The crowd responds loudly, excited to hear the title song of their second album - which was released almost a year ago - but also because they know the type of show that Castor will put on during this song. My Phoenixes is extremely drum-driven, with a two minute instrumental opening before Nichole even opens her mouth. Castor takes this time to move very dramatically as he plays, alternating between standing up and sitting down, his arms almost flailing in a controlled way as he plays, drawing all attention to himself. Even Nichole - who has seen Castor perform this song many many times - is drawn to watching him while she sings. It's not often that Castor is the focus of the show, and Nichole is more than happy to let him take that focus from her for this song.
When the song comes to an end, the crowd is almost hysterical. Castor stands up and takes a bow as Nichole raises her hands to him. "Mr. Castor Drake, ladies and gentlemen!" she introduces him again, smiling brightly at her best friend.
Nichole and Castor both stand up from their instruments and make their way to the front of the stage, Nichole with mic in hand. A stagehand comes out and hands Castor a guitar, which he straps around his bare torso. Nichole smiles at a few people close to the stage and then looks out across the vast audience. "How many of you guys were at the first show in Mesa?" she asks, and a group of people cheer loudly. "Wow, you guys need to get lives." The crowd laughs. "Anyway, I don't know if you guys saw Police Code that night, but they did an amazing cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's Song Against Sex. And I may have mentioned on Twitter that I would possibly do a Neutral Milk Hotel cover as well." She pauses as the crowd cheers loudly again, making her smile even wider. Nichole turns and gives a small nod to Castor, who begins playing Neutral Milk Hotel's Two-Headed Boy. It's an especially difficult song to sing - unless you're Jeff Mangum - but Nichole adds her own Vile Hour flair to it, her loud and emotional voice perfect for the song. Both her and Castor give their all as Nichole wildly expresses the desperation of the lyrics with her voice and hands, sometimes covering half of her face with her hands like she were sobbing as she sings.Two-headed boy
All floating in glass
The sun it has passed
Now it's blacker than black
I can hear as you tap on your jar
I am listening to hear where you are
I am listening to hear where you are
Two-headed boy
Put on Sunday shoes
And dance round the room to accordion keys
With the needle that sings in your heart
Catching signals that sound in the dark
Catching signals that sound in the dark
We will take off our clothes
And they'll be lacing fingers through the notches in your spine
And when all is breaking everything that you could keep inside
Now your eyes ain't moving now
They just lay there in their climb
Two-headed boy
With pulleys and weights
Creating a radio played just for two
In the parlor with a moon across her face
And through the music he sweetly displays
Silver speakers that sparkle all day
Made for his lover who's floating
And choking with her hands across her face
And in the dark we will take off our clothes
And they'll be lacing fingers through the notches in your spine
And when all is breaking everything that you could keep inside
Now your eyes ain't moving now
They just lay there in their climb
Two-headed boy
There is no reason to grieve
The world that you need is wrapped in gold silver sleeves
Left beneath Christmas trees in the snow
And I will take you and leave you alone
Watching spirals of white softly flow
Over your eyelids and all you did
Will wait until the point when you let go
Do-do, do-do, do-do-do-do-do
Do-do, do-do, do-do-do-do-do By the end of the song, as the song slows to a mellow and tired beat, Nichole leans on Castor and sings the final lines - Do-do, do-do, do-do-do-do-do... do-do, do-do, do-do-do-do-do - as he plays the song out. Although many people in the audience knew the words to the song, they refrained from singing so that they could hear Nichole's performance of the song, so the massive cheer from the audience when the song is finished is shockingly loud. Nichole hugs Castor as the loud of the crowd washes over her and she regains her composure after such an emotional cover. They pulls back from each other and Castor goes to put down the guitar near his drum set. "That's Mr. Castor Drake on the guitar, ladies and gentlemen, in case you didn't know," Nichole says, pointing at Castor as he moves behind her. She turns and goes back to her piano, placing herself behind it with a sigh, feeling back at home with her instrument. "If you don't have Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over the Sea record, I suggest you go out and buy it tomorrow. You should know that album. Or come hang out with us after the show. We'll playing it in our bus and make you all be really quiet while you listen. Just come see us. We'll make sure you know." The crowd cheers at Nichole's invitation and she nods, looking very serious about her offer. She situates herself behind her piano and smiles. "And now we'll play a Vile Hour song." The crowd cheers. "This song is from our most recent album. We originally did this song with the fantastically talented Ryan Williams-" She pauses as the crowd reacts to hearing Ryan's name. "But tonight, it'll just be me. This song is called I Don't Know If This is a Love Song." The song definitely as a different feeling in this live version than it does on the album. Nichole slows down the fairly fast song, giving it a more jazz club feeling as she plays. As she plays, two women come out on stage dressed in short black modest dresses, wearing suits under their dress to make it appear like they are pregnant. Their makeup is done in the Vile Hour mime fashion, and they each hold a wooden mallet in one of their hands. As the song plays, they robotically dance to the song, miming like they are hitting each other in the belly with the wooden mallets as Nichole sings. The slowed down tempo and this performance from the two "pregnant" women give the song an entirely new meaning, and lyrics like, And I don't know if this a love song / But you have made your mark" seems to have an almost sinister and bitter feeling to them rather than of one of confusion in love. The performance could be just another moment of Vile Hour shock-and-awe that they are known for - or it could be a reference to the fact that when Nichole was writing and producing this song, she was pregnant with her now ex-husband's children, and she's changed the meaning of the song to fit how she feels about her ex-husband now.I tried to write you a tango
But all we could do was stumble
And I wanted to whisper in your ear
But all that came out was a jumble of mumbles
I don't know you wanted to hear
And I don't know if this a love song
But you have made your mark
You have made your mark
We met each other's matches
Then we set the house on fire
And our faces glowed in the flame light
So hold out, hold out, hold out your palm
And offer it to me, offer it to me
And give me, give me, give me something real
So real that I can hardly breathe
The Green Woman, she said,
"You know this can't last,
So stick your tongue out at life
And just get what you can, what you can
While you can
And you can."
  
We sharpened our claws on each other
Didn't leave a scratch
No, we didn't leave a scratch
But you tap, tap, tapped my body's hollows
To the count of three (one, two)
To the count of three
One, two, three
And the Oak Men said to me,
"Look inside yourself
And you'll find what you need
What you need."
While you need
And I need...
And I'm not sure if this is a love song
But you have made your mark
You have made your mark
We met each other's matches
Then we set the house on fire
And our faces glowed, our faces glowed Nichole takes a long piano solo, which was not part of the original album version of the song, but works well with this new jazzy version of it. As she plays, the two "pregnant" women exit the stage and go into the crowd, milling around, their expressionless faces making everybody generally uncomfortable when they approach them. Much to the surprise of the people in the crowd, the piano solo slowly begins to transition into a completely different song, and Nichole begins singing George Michael's Careless Whisper. The audience doesn't really know to react to this sudden change, but they don't seem too terribly shocked that Vile Hour would throw some random song into the mix. She sings the chorus of Careless Whisper once before quickly transitioning back into I Don't Know if This is a Love Song and finishing the song. As she sings the last verse, the two "pregnant" girls return to the stage and take awkward, robotic bows before exiting the stage at the end of the song.I'm never gonna dance again
Guilty feet have got no rhythm
Though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
And I can't tell if this is a love song
But you have made your mark
You have made your mark
We met each other's matches
Then we set the house on fire
Oh, how our faces glowed in the flame light
Part 2 below!
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