Schaffer The Darklord

I went to The Knitting Factory last night. While all the cool goth kids who complimented me on my Voltaire T-shirt were there to see Creature Feature on another stage, I was in attendance to support MC Frontalot.

Due to Thanksgiving and Rock Band commitments, attendance was light and extra dorky. It's just as well. Anyone who didn't know what was coming would have fled when Pitch White opened with a set dedicated to Max Hardcore. It was exactly what anyone who didn't know better would expect from nerdcore: an excuse for some skinny white boy to indulge in misogyny disguised as parody.

I'm glad I stuck it out.

MC Frontalot's show was pretty much the same as the last time I saw it back at PAX, except on a smaller stage and with a new drummer. Those saving throws never seem to pan out unexpectedly. Despite some sound issues and a setlist I've mostly heard before, it was cool to see his band perform in an intimate venue. I finally got to tell Gminor7 how awesome he is on the keyboard and onstage.

The revelation of the night, though, was Schaffer The Darklord. I believe we've written about it in the past, but I don't feel like looking it up. Good nerdcore is always better live. Studio albums and MySpace tracks may not impress you until you see a show. The video below is a reasonable promise of what to expect from him, though.



Listening to his first album, he seemed to be inspired more by Tenacious D than geek stuff. I should have asked him about that. The songs on Mark of the Beast, however, are like some weird combination of Voltaire in comedy mode and a rapping Ted Raimi. And though I love Voltaire, I have to give credit where it's due. "Revenge of Attack of the Clonefucker" beats all but "Sexy Data Tango" lyrically when it comes to vulgar sci-fi songs. And though Voltaire's son may have wondered if Jesus was a zombie, Schaeffer The Darklord wrote a song about it.

Hey, what do you know? There's a perfectly audible live video clip of it on the Internet. With post-song commentary!

Whether you're a nerdcore convert, skeptic, or hater, I urge you to check out STD live for comedic value alone. Don't be surprised if you find yourself endorsing geeky, unhip, unheard of music on your blog (when you finally get around to posting) if you do.

I have done as I vowed, Darklord, and praised you on my blog that eight people read. Will you reward me by returning to L.A.? Preferably at a time when relatives aren't around and Rock Band II hasn't just come out? I beg of thee, my dark lord of rappistry. Please look kindly on my plea.

PAX: Nerdcore Rising, Mega Man Falling

You may not know that nerdcore music rocks harder live. Before PAX, what I had listened to of Optimus Rhyme had only convinced me that, "Yeah, it's pretty neat." Now, I'm a believer. Part of this is the usual hit-or-miss problems that crop up when small independent groups enter the studio. The group goes in, records a good set, and then some damn fool says to themselves, "Hey, all of that RAWK is getting in the way of Count Lyle's mellifluous voice! I'd better fix that."

Meanwhile, M.C. Frontalot's studio works possess a superior studio mix, but I preferred his live backup to the rotating cast of starts he grabbed for his album. That said, I'm still happy to own both CD's, and not just because he gave me a free rubber band with my last purchase.

Meanwhile, Beefy Live is just as good as Beefy Not Live. This is probably because his backup band is an iPod.

On the other hand, I can pretty much take or leave people covering videogame music. There are still some standouts that grab my attention, but for the most part, I only find myself liking the songs I already know from playing the games they're attached to. My current theories as to why this might be the case:

1- As a child, I only played games with good music.
2- Most covers of videogame music drain the midi-styled charm that made them so catchy, while failing to inject their own flavor into it.
3- No, really, Final Fantasy music sucks.

Is This Thing Still On?

Let's link to some bands. Press any button to start. That's it. Tilt your keyboard to engage the power of rock. All right. Now you've got it.

Unless Wikipedia and iTunes are lying to me, this guy has remade an old European dance hit into a song about playing Warcraft III. You can check out a remix of DotA (Defense of the Ancients) here for all your gaming synthpop needs. Personally, I prefer the radio edit on iTunes.

Beefy, one of three possibly sane people I met last year at the post-PAX nerdcore night, continues to impress. MC Front has the flow, and Optimus Rhyme certainly has the band, but Beefy is one of the few other nerdcore rappers I've listened to who exhibits talent beyond the ability to rhyme things with "l33t". Not only can you take pride in understanding "Table Top", you can dance to it.

Finally, allow me to reintroduce Lee Presson, accompanied by his Nails. As I mentioned months ago, he leads some sort of newfangled swing band hopped up on evil. I saw him perform as more than a mere keyboardist for Dead Man's Party last night, and I'd be shocked by how awesome I found it, if I didn't already know how much I love things that are awesome.

Cell phone videos on YouTube don't do the live show justice, so I offer the following example instead. It's like Dr. Forrester left Deep 13 to start a band.