Concert Review - Steam Powered Giraffe and Cirque Noir, Live On Board The Queen Mary

On the evening of Friday the 11th of January, I was lucky enough to find myself seeing two different concerts in rather unusual locations. The first show of the evening featured the unique musical pantomime of San Diego's Steam Powered Giraffe, playing on the opening night of Her Royal Majesty's Steampunk Symposium. Roll up, roll up to find out about their 2¢ show.

Ok, as clever a turn of phrase as fans of Steam Powered Giraffe may find that previous line, the uninitiated deserve to be brought behind the curtain so to speak. The 2¢ Show is actually the name of the group's second studio album, and not what the show cost and definitely not what it was worth.

Tourists who visited San Diego since the mid-to-late aughtie's may have run across this trio at one of their busking performances, or perhaps even in their earlier incarnation known as the Peoplebots. The core members of the group are comprised of Rabbit (Melodica, Accordion), The Spine (Guitar, Bass, Keys, Mandolin) and Hatchworth (Bass, Drums). Since being assembled, Steam Powered Giraffe has released a pair of studio albums, a live disc, a DVD and have become quite popular on the fan convention performance circuit.

Steam Powered Giraffe, live at the Queen Mary

This was my first occasion seeing Steam Powered Giraffe perform live. Perform is most assuredly an accurate description, because what Steam Powered Giraffe does in a live setting is considerably more than just playing their songs. The trio, backed by a "human" drummer and a bloody impressive multi-instrumentalist named Michael Reed for their live sets, combine music, comedy and pantomime, while made up in antique robot make-up and costumes. The group and each character in it even have back stories for their automaton alter egos. There were an impressive number of hardcore fans in attendance, many of who were wearing their own versions of SPG-style robot makeup.

Steam Powered Giraffe powered down but ready to play

Taking the small stage in the Queen Mary's Grand Salon, the band proceeded to take "powered down" positions, after which their clockwork and steam mechanisms spun up and the show began. The group is quite fun to watch and have their robot pantomime skills honed exceedingly well. I was surprised at how much pantomime and comedy was actually involved in their act, as opposed to back-to-back songs. It was a actually a welcome change to see a young group challenging the conventions of performance.

The Spine

Their set included the popular single, "Honeybee" along with my personal favourite song from the Steam Powered Giraffe canon, the adventurously fun "Captain Albert Alexander". This video of the song "Scary World" (posted by YouTuber fanciestcat) is a good example of the group's live musical and harmonizing abilities.

The opening band was a curiosity by the name of Cirque Noir. Their "musique diabolique" reminded me of a louder and heavier variation on the Neo-Victorian sounds of The Unextraordinary Gentlemen, who are among my favourite groups in the eclectic and varied world of steampunk music. Featuring dual lead vocalists, a dude in a bunny mask (yes, really) and awesome surf-goth keyboard lines, I though the band was quite interesting live (though some other attendees may have found them a bit loud for the room) and I am definitely going to check out their debut recording which they indicated will be releasing this year.

Cirque Noir, live on the Queen Mary during HRM's Steampunk Symposium

Funny story: I actually encountered their bunny-headed bassist, Baron von Velveteen, in the passageways of the Queen Mary prior to the show, mistakenly thinking it was someone cosplaying as a steampunked variation of Harvey the Poooka.

For those still unsure what to make of the music genre of steampunk, Steam Powered Giraffe are an excellent starting off point for your ears. Their music combines familiar sounds, Liverpudlian-style harmonies and excellent stories woven throughout their songs. It's not too over the top nor is it underwhelming. In a word, just right. Oh, that's two words, isn't it? Their backstory and meta-content (including a comic strip and history which begins in 1896) make the experience of getting into a band like this so much enjoyable for both first timers and those who have the spine to fall a little further down the rabbit hole.

Please enjoy this mini photo gallery from the evening. All photos © 2013 by @LinerNotes.