This past week was a good one for concerts in Blacksburg. The Lantern in particular managed to grab two larger acts in a row on Wednesday and Thursday, and I had the good fortune to be able to attend both.

         Wednesday was three servings of noise, beginning with Hideki Tojo’s trademark weirdness on guitar, bass, antenna-thing, and Nintendo DS. Though a bit repetitive at times (if I hear someone yell “keep on trucking!” one more time...) it’s inventive enough to make up for it.

         Next were the Bastards of Fate, which, while much more “musical” than Tojo, are no less strange. Lead singer Doug Cheatwood lead the way with his prop-based mayhem, complete with swinging shop-light, dogwood tree limbs, and a leaf-blower and a bag of packing peanuts. They always put on a good show (and their music’s not half bad either.)

         Finally, the main event began around 11pm-- Sleepytime Gorilla Museum took the stage, dressed in home-made clothing made from old ties sown together and done up in crazy makeup. Their instrumentation was as eclectic as they were-- a twelve-string electric guitar, violin, assorted drums, xylophones, and a bicycle tire, as well as a “sledgehammer dulcimer”, which appeared to be several long strings strung over a 7 or so foot long board with pickups bolted to it. I had always wondered how they managed to achieve some of the sounds they do on their albums, and how I see how. Their music is a bit harsh metal for me at times, but in their case it works within their overall sound, which is extremely dynamic and creative.

         The show was sometimes loud-- painfully so at times-- sometimes soft, sometimes complex and sometimes simple, but overall it was very enjoyable. Their stage presence was exactly how I would have expected it from hearing them, which in their case wasn’t a bad thing. It was odd, loud, and slightly creepy, but hey, thats what everyone came in expecting, and it certainly gave everything it promised.

Part 2- Thursday.

         Imagine a scene, if you will: a punk rock group gets lost and ends up in a French cabaret. After a few drinks, and then a few more, the whole group stumbles out into the night, singing and carrying on, into the middle of the Ringling Brother’s Circus, where they proceed to cause all kinds of mayhem. Now imagine what the soundtrack for such a scene would sound like, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of the basic style of The World/Inferno Friendship Society-- of both their music and their shows.

         Stuck Lucky, the opening act, was an excellent choice for an opener; it was basic, fun, energetic rock, coupled with a lead singer who wasn’t afraid to take his shirt off and jump down into the audience to get everyone’s energy up, even if most of the audience wasn’t willing to get that worked up yet.

         Then, the World/Inferno made their way on stage and the real show began. There’s a certain magic to their shows. When the spotlight shines off Jack Terricloth’s enormous pasty-white forehead he conducts the mass like a maestro, engaging the audience with odd tales and call-and-response leading into their songs in his immaculate faux accent. They’re showmen as much as they are musicians, and it shows in the energy generated at their performances.

         The power of their stage presence can be summed up in one event: as the concert was drawing to a close, Terricloth came to the mike and said “For this next song, everyone is going to have to find a partner.” And we all did-- those of us who were lucky enough to come with women got together, and the rest partnered up with a laugh in the middle of the floor. And they started the song, the slow, 3/4 tempoed “Heart Attack ‘64”.

         And we waltzed, spinning around the floor of the lantern in some kind of surreal punk-rock ballroom dance, colliding, pushing, and yet somehow continuing to move without ever stopping. Terricloth himself even joined in at one point.

         It was exciting, it was surreal, and it gave off an aura of camaraderie unlike any other performance I’ve seen. If you ever have a chance to see The World/Inferno Friendship Society live, I heartily recommend it, because I’ve yet to see anyone put on a show quite like they do.