Wha' Happen?! - The Band Orgy

So I'm thinking of doing a "Wha' Happen?!" segment in this blog. Named after a particular scene in the movie A Mighty Wind, I'll be using the Wha' Happen topic for anything music-related that I find either bizarre, sad (yet funny), and WTF-ish.

This week's wha' happen is all about the late 90s/early 00s "death pop" band Orgy. Back in the Summer of 1998, I became infatuated by the sounds (and looks) of this new band that seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Candyass was stuck in my CD player for quite some time and their photos were plastered all over my bedroom, binders, and locker.

Fast forward to present day 2012. I receive an email from Ticketmaster saying that Orgy is playing Irving Plaza in NYC on March 6th (the day before my 28th birthday...What a gift!). The 15 year old in me started to shriek and convulse with excitement.

Then I learned something. After doing a little bit of digging, I discovered that it wasn't REALLY Orgy that was going on tour. Nope...

Jay Gordon (Orgy's original vocalist) owns the name Orgy. A few years ago, he left the band and recently "resurrected" Orgy with a WHOLE NEW LINE-UP.

Hey, wha' happen?!?!??!?!?!

I know of some bands that CAN pull this sort of thing off, like Dillinger Escape Plan, Misery Signals, and Darkest Hour. The reason bands like that can pull off having 1 or 2 original members is because they are ALL about the music.

The reason a band like Orgy can't (and shouldn't) do something like this is because their LOOKS are just as important (if not MORE important) than their music! Each member was a character with a specific style and personality...JUST like a boy band!

With that said, why the hell would I want to see a version of this band that only has ONE of its original characters? It just seems unfair to the fans.

Since their booking agent didn't respond to my inquiry to photograph their NYC show* (and Jay Gordon went from looking like this to this), I won't be there. I know the new guys in the band are great (like the 2 former members of Deadsy), but it's just not the same.

What do you think? Do you think it's smart or silly for a band like Orgy to start fresh?

*Update 03/05/12 - I got a one line response from someone from the band's PR group saying they couldn't accommodate my request to photograph the band. Not sure if I should be insulted or relieved?

Showing My Age - Tool Time

Tonight, Anthony and I are seeing the almighty Tool at the nearby Izod Center. It's a special night for Anthony since it'll be his very first time seeing Tool live. Tonight will mark time number 4 for me.

I was reminiscing about the past 3 times I saw Tool. The last time I saw them was 6 years ago during the 10,000 Days tour with my good friend and a random guy from my past job that bought our extra ticket. Our seats were on the other side of the arena but worked in our favor because Tool had a sweet laser light thing going on at the time (and the first band I can remember that utilized these crazy laser light rigs that many big & semi-big bands use now). I probably have photos of this on my ancient pink Motorola Razr.

Wow...A Motorola RAZR? Shit, I'm old...

Wait, it gets better.

The time before that, I saw Tool in Wilkes Barre, PA while they toured Lateralus in 2002. I got floor tickets with my high school friend and we somehow managed to get one person away from the barricade on Adam Jones's side. This show will forever be one of my most favorite live shows. The setlist was perfect, the crowd was comfortable, and I had an intense out of body-like experience the entire time (sans drugs/alcohol/anything of that nature). I can vividly remember feeling the bass from some filler music pulsate from my feet all the way up to the top of my head. My friend felt it, too, so it wasn't me being crazy. Super intense and memorable!

The first time I saw Tool was probably the worst time I saw Tool. It was Lollapalooza 1997 at Randall's Island, which is basically a dust bowl. It was my second concert EVER. First outdoor/all day concert. AND the first concert I was allowed to go to without adult supervision.

My friend and I were both only 13 years old.

Our parents were either really stupid or really trusted us.

My friend and I spent the whole day in the blazing hot sun together basically waiting it out for Tool. We got to see Porno For Pyros, Korn, and Snoop Dogg throughout the day, but we were mainly there for Tool.

Tool came on at 7:45, opening their set with "Hooker with a Penis" and I crowdsurfed for the first time. Maynard was in his drag era, so he was rocking his fake breasted corset, kabuki make-up, and curly wig. Pretty amazing stuff.

Unfortunately, my parents said they'd be picking us up at 8pm.

We had to leave 2 songs into the set.

We waited outside the venue for quite some time, wondering where the hell my parents were. We could hear the muffled sounds of Tool while we waited, which was just beyond depressing.

My parents finally rolled up, and proceeded to yell at us for apparently waiting for them in the wrong area. They said they were driving around for ages wondering where we were. Because of our misunderstanding, I was punished. By punished, I mean I couldn't go see Metallica when they came to town in the next couple months. I was heartbroken.

I look back on that day and wish cell phones were around.

I also look back on that day and realize the sad truth...

That the first time I saw Tool was 15 YEARS AGO.

I'm old...