The Tempers at The Comet (All photos by Bebe Besch)
Capitol Hill was alive on Friday night, per usual, but the heat from The Comet’s seductive show could not be ignored by passerbys and audience members alike. The spell we were experiencing was the product of The Tempers‘ release party for their Together We Are the Love Vortex EP.
The arousing sibling trio making up The Tempers began appearing on stage in their positions, and after a brief decision to turn the lights nearly off (besides the light from their drum set) the band enjoyed starting their séance of ghoul pop. Corina Bakker in the forefront was glowing from the drum backlighting her ethereal wedding gown inspired dress which was matched with a spiked necklace and the band’s typical fake blood running down the sides of her bottom lip. Her smiles while sporting the eerie get up were a reflection of their electronic musical offerings as a band. The Bakker’s are masters at combining both dark and light in song and appearance, and they enforce this ability along each of the five new offerings found on their Together We Are the Love Vortex EP.
Early on, the utilizing of their synthesizer was in full force for the EP’s first song “You Must Be Crazy,” highlighting the tag-team vocal work between Corina and her brother James Bakker. In his own smiley-faced and ghostly hoodie, James was stationed behind a field of keys to stage left. He made his presence loud as he handled nearly all of the instrument interplay creating their colorful melodies.
While Corina continued her brilliant shrieking along “They Say In Love,” Chalia Bakker held the steady and seductive beat in the back of the stage at her drumset. Slick and elegant, her percussion smoothly transitions between their new and old songs with ease. Corina handled most of the visual vibrancy with her layered personally, but Chalia too flashes expressions while drumming that are fascinatingly both spooky and fair.
Love was definitely there for The Tempers and their newest creations, but the crowd at The Comet responded through freaky dancing and swaying most during already enjoyed favorites like “Alone Again.” When Corina wasn’t reaching towards the dollar bill-covered ceiling, her arms were outstretched towards a fan in front who continually pined towards her in dance.
Though the trio graciously thanked the audience for their praise, we were gaze struck by their music and it was by no mistake of the band’s doing. The Tempers’ alluring power can be seen in the video below from their performance at The Comet this Friday:
Along for the party, The Tempers brought local openers Ononos. The electro three-piece shocked as they spent their stage time slithering wildly experimental notes over The Comet’s speakers – their sound is similar in the way of dubstep processing, but simplified. A singular white flashing of light bounced off the members as they held their three positions. Each member adorned mysterious attire with front “lightbeing” and lead singer Nono Ono at the center in a full body suit of silver. Singing and breathing through the fabric into his mic, Nono Ono also featured buttons pinned along his demeanor of “ononos” and one “yes” covering his right eye. Their fuzzy, Yoko Ono inspired creations were robust; the group is wild enough that the first openers of the night called them “scary,” and that only speaks to their arresting presence.
If you’re missing glam rock, look no further – The Fame Riot of Tacoma bring a fresh version of the energetic past, mixing relevant electro and pop into their galvanizing set, comparative to nothing I’ve seen from a first opener.
The Fame Riot is primarily the work of two brothers, Liz Scarlett on lead vocals while handling the stage front as well as other duties on guitar, and Shazam “Tea Time” Watkins on keys, who sometimes takes vocal duties over himself with vigorous screaming and perhaps the most impressive stage diving I’ve ever seen. Fame Riot groupies owned the stage room floor at The Comet, and during one of their songs, Shazam jumped onto two lone fans for their catching. Their job was no easy task but the two rioters supported Shazam all the same, bringing him back to the stage without once hitting the floor.
Liz Scarlett however was on the floor multiple times throughout their short, four-song set. Liz stripped down, showing off his tight frame as he demonstrated his physical abilities both in bizarre dancing and crawling along the floor (a haunting site straight out of a Resident Evil title). Some punk line dancing commenced during their catchy song “Heart Stray,” and the two brothers fed off both the crowd’s energy and their own dynamics on stage. Liz slapped Shazam around as brothers do, and Shazam continued to shower the crowd with sweat dropping entertainment until their final note, which had Liz lying spread eagle, once again, on the floor.
