APES & ANDROIDS ///
BOWERY BALLROOM, NYC ///
MAY 30, 2008 ///
WORDS: DIANE COHEN ///
PHOTOS: CLAIRE SHEPROW ///

You know that crazy feeling one has when on the verge of sensory overload? The lights are flashing, the music is frenzied and the decision must be made: fight or flight? Provided one resolved to tough it out, allow their eyes dilate, and embrace all that is righteous and glow-in-the-dark, the result would be an act that takes showmanship to the the brink of spinal tap, and then decides to throw in 8-foot tall, stilted unicorns, just for good measure.

Immediately following famed couch-dweller Reggie Watts, Apes & Androids appeared to deliver a set that proved they're worth all the recent the hype. Each song provided further, more enthusiastic confirmation of every comparison ever made about the group; a tight velvet halter jumpsuit and make up served as a nod to Mr. Ziggy Stardust, and the strange synth sounds, combined four-part vocal harmonies, were a modern, MST3K-worthy ode to the rock operas of Queen. The band, in a shower of confetti and streamers, set the bar for a high-energy performance right from the beginning, but hit their stride mid-set upon bringing out the drums for "Golden Prize."

From there, great music performance only further combined with great showmanship when the lights were killed and green glow sticks and luminescent beach balls were tossed over the crowd. Followed by unicorns on stilts with glowing green eyes being lead into the crowd by silver spandex-attired women to perform choreographed dance and lady, also in silver, performing with a lighted hula hoop on stage, these performance elements didn't outshine the music being so ardently played, they were just a physical manifestation of the crowd's delight in the spectacle at hand. The show ended in a swell of magnificence, as a robed "choir" took the stage to perform the final song, "Hot Kathy," followed by the chorus from "Hey Jude." Peppered with confetti and laced with streamers, glowsticks, spandex, faux-fur and unstoppable showmanship, Apes & Androids delivered to the sold out crowd at the Bowery Ballroom what is sure to be one of the most frenzied, whimsical shows of the summer. And they didn't even smudge their eyeliner doing it.