GWAR, Bunnymen put on bloody good concerts

By Brian M. Kemp
Daily Arts Writer

In the category of women in rock, GWAR's own Slymenstra Hymen, mistress of the unplumbed depths, easily takes the cake as the most powerful, unrelenting and vulgar of them all. Slymenstra proved this to the Detroit area last Thursday night as she left no man unscathed on the stage of St. Andrew's.

REVIEW
	GWAR St. Andrew's Hall, Detroit May 29, 1997

In an interview with The Michigan Daily before GWAR's performance, Slymenstra began an interrogation. "What are you waking me up from my beauty sleep for? What is this all about? A woman needs her beauty sleep," she said, demanding an answer. From this point on, Slymenstra told it how it was, and followed through with what she said an hour later on stage.

As GWAR took the stage that night, Slymenstra entered the stage with a spiked brassiere and five-inch, high-heeled boots to match. "I'm showing female power. It's just woman and beauty and power. Just like when you're sitting there going gwarrr! It just looks powerful. It's not totally gross sexuality ... overindulgent, gross sexuality. I don't think, anyways," she said. Indeed, this was the truth as she partook in helping to "kill" the first human on stage while the band played "First Rule Is." At that point the "blood" began to spray the eager crowd below and continued to fulfill the audience's appetite for the next two hours.

Most of the show centered on Slymenstra and her womanhood, or as she put it earlier in the evening, "I think I am a good role model because I am up there kicking guys' asses, and I'm not afraid to speak my mind."

Slymenstra punched, drop-kicked and even tore apart mutant penguins, Gor-Gor the 15-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus, and Techno Destructo, arch-enemy of GWAR. Through all this death and destruction, kids were moshing to the beats of "The Salaminizer," "Crack in the Egg," "If I Could Be That" and "Death Pod," while being completely covered with "GWAR bodily fluids."

The highlight of the concert then came as Slymenstra began dancing with a pair of flaming batons. She began to blow gigantic fireballs above the crowd, the heat from which could be felt by all who watched in amazement.

GWAR's set continued through the songs "Sammy," Horror of Yig" and "Vlad the Impaler" as a giant meat grinder was set up, chopping some of the audience members to bits. The lights went dim and GWAR exited, only to be brought back on stage by hundreds of kids chanting the band's name.

This became the encore of all encores, as Slymenstra re-entered wearing an outfit complete with a boa. She quietly began to sing the lounge-based "Don't Need A Man." The blood-soaked audience just stopped, stared and listened to Slymenstra and her beautiful crooning. Swaying to the tune while removing the boa, she revealed a skintight reptilian body suit, which made her resemble a snake trying to hypnotize its prey.

GWAR finally left the broken and bloody, yet absolutely content crowd behind. The band brought to Detroit what they promise in their name alone. As Slymenstra had said, "It's a frustration word like gwarrr! It's a frustrating sound. GWARRR!"

MARGARET MYERS/Daily
A sold-out Detroit crowd enjoyed some good clean fun with the fine young men and women of GWAR last Thursday.

06-04-97