GWAR is interesting to me. Musically, I think they suck — not my thing at all. I bet they can play, but they just kinda horse around on stage. What I’ve heard (and it tracks) is that they’re just theater nerds having fun and nobody really considers them serious musicians, it’s more of a variety show they put on. It’s not for me, but I’m happy something like that can be moderately successful. Also, their costumes are weird, but they’re cool. They’re like furries or cosplayers except they seem to take themselves more seriously (but they really don’t).
Groucho Marx was a fan of Alice Cooper concerts, because the whole performance was vaudeville. James Randi beheads a man onstage, and this talkie-era movie star grandfather is in the audience, nudging the kid beside him. ‘We did that back in twenty-three. The hard part is gluing it back on.’
There’s video of Oderus walking through a music festival, in costume, fucking around. He opens a beer with his giant rubber dick.
I’m with you on not being especially into their music. This performance fucking rules - but their previous AV Club appearance covered “Carry On My Wayward Son” sarcastically. Talented. Committed! Taking the piss. The only original song I revisit is “Saddam A Go-Go.” Fans describe This Toilet, Earth as toned-down and commercial, which, yeah. But the music video still prominently features the slave pit full of half-naked saxophonists.
GWAR nails the core of metal: looking straight at something over-the-top and transgressive, recognizing it’s completely goofy, and still sincerely enjoying it. This troupe of rejected World Of Warcraft designs isn’t any stupider than airbrushed album covers of sawblade-dragon-motorcycles, or the lead singer’s zombie OC biting Margaret Thatcher. They saw what KISS was doing for money, and figured if that’s profitable, they could get away with anything.