VOLTAGE FASHION 05/25/2005




VOLTAGE FASHION AMPLIFIED 05

There were eight bands, twenty four designers, and a pretty large crowd at First Avenue for Voltage Fashion Amplified 05 . Linda and I went with a group of my co-workers, including Kristina, Sean, Rachael, Emily C, and Lori to Palimino's for a quick bite before the concert. We had purchased tickets in advance, which made sense once we got to First Avenue and saw the long lines to get in. Tickets on hand, we went in pretty quickly. We headed for the second floor, where we had agreed to meet with Lori, who had gone to meet her boyfriend, Charlie. I headed for one of the bars and ordered a gigantic Newcastle, then beer on hand I pulled my camera and began to take a few pictures. The view from the second floor wasn't too good, and Linda Kristina and I decided to go downstairs and stake out some space. We found a great space on a ramp by the catwalk. We chatted for a long time. The space got crowded as people came in. The show finally started at 8PM with Melodious Owl a young all-male trio with a pretty caristmatic singer and designs by Molly Roark. Then came The Violettes with designs by Kristen Thoreson. And so it continued throughout the night. Each band played a 20 or 30 minute sets. Downtime between bands was around 10 minutes, perfect to catch-up or go for a beer. As usual, bands and designers got better as the night progressed. My favorite bands were Ouijia Radio a two-girl fronted band with great vocals and good tempo, Mike Gunther and His Restless Souls with a Tom Waits sounding Mike Gunther on lead vocals, and the Soviettes a mostly-female powerhouse of a band. The other bands on the line up included The TV Sound with catchy lyrics, the Olympic Hopefuls and The Deaths. Of the designers, I liked best Taissa Lada with her wonderful and sensual use of feathers (very politically incorrect, but very beautiful to look at) She had a couple of very nice bustiers, and a really nice full dress made completely of peacock feathers, and Anna Lee and Ruby 3 (Anna Lee was also the force behind Voltage05) with pretty outrageous hats (here is an interview Anna gave to Pulse about the show). I liked a number of other designs, but I can't tell anymore who's who. I remember particularly a pretty cool black dress with a spider web motif on the back.

After a while, Kristina and the others left. Linda and I, and Lori and Charlie, stayed until the very end. This was so much fun, we'll make sure to go next time around.

click here for the Movie and click here for pictures of the show

art05 first avenue fashion amplified 05 voltage05

Posted: Wednesday - May 25, 2005 at 12:23 PM          

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