wordplay: Tirzah

In 1897, 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon questioned the existence of Santa Claus; and today, the Dresden Dolls’ sophomore album Yes, Virginia answers with all the passion, the belief, the absurd flippancy, and the sweetly sardonic cynicism and social outrage that embodies this dolled-up duo.  Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione.  Fishnets and face paint.  Artists and Actors.  A piano and a drum kit.  Sexual chemistry and tangible harmony.  With a refreshing lack of pretension, the Dolls’ musical offerings echo of Amsterdam and burlesque, ambivalence and decadence, sincerity, psychosis, cabaret influences and a fresh dose of punk attitude that rises far above the mediocrity of the mainstream.

In deep, rich, genuine tones that cannot be ignored, Amanda Palmer “touches” on everything from masturbation and the poignant satisfaction of a Thursday morning orgasm, to playing doctor and playing god, to her intimate relations with the hotel mini bar.  She sings for alcoholics and the holocaust, for sex and sleaze, for teachers and checkout girls, for the government, politics, and drugs, and for those of us who can’t sing to save our own sorry lives, all while railing on the piano and giving society the finger. 

These Dolls are not delicate; they are not fragile; they are not a fleeting fad; they are brave, bold, and beautiful.  They are fierce and fearless; raw and damaged; infectious and intense; jaded and timid; and they will prove that none of us are ever too old to play with dolls.  These Dolls truly possess a magic all their own; a magic that perhaps must be seen in order to be believed . . . . “Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.”  And they’d kick Santa’s jolly ass any day! Yes, Virginia . . . thank you.

July 22nd @ The Fillmore

DresdenDolls.com