Hot band generates little heat

By KIERAN GRANT
Toronto Sun
October 15, 1996

Porno For Pyros were in dire need of a choreographer Sunday night at Varsity Arena.
The L.A. alt-metal band's anarchy capped the sold-out show, which also featured sets by Toronto's equally popular I Mother Earth, and U.S. outfits Stabbing Westward and Fun Loving Criminals.
It was certainly in keeping with Porno For Pyros frontman Perry Farrell's penchant for artsy rock through bacchanalian posturing.
Surrounding himself on stage with a platoon of "beautiful people" who were apparantly on hand to dance and sing back-up, the guy looked like a cult leader.
The stage often resembled one of those hippie-era concert films where you can't see the band for all the pals floating around.
The music-savvy Farrell - the former Jane's Addiction singer founded Lollapalooza - knows how to put a band together.
Porno For Pyros' backbone of guitarist Peter DiStefano, former Jane's drummer Stephen Perkins, and legendary California punk bassist Mike Watt supplied a minimalist rumble on songs from the band's latest disc, Good God's Urge.
The group came together especially well on eerie songs like Thugs Rule The Night and Cursed Female, from PFP's self-titled 1993 debut.
Unaffected by how spooky his band could sound, Farrell strutted about, bottle of red wine in hand and a feather in his fedora, and showered the adoring mosh-pit with bouquets and Hawaiian leis.
Farrell nearly fell victim to his own pretentiousness, but he was funny.
When he wasn't going on about how "I can live forever by loving the young, hot, stimulated blood," he wiggled his bum a lot and sang in his trademark, mosquito-tone register.
Question was, just who was Farrell trying to entertain?
Ultimately, the singer failed to really connect with the audience - apart from the pit - except during the decidedly brief hit song Tahitian Moon and excellent encore versions of Pets and Jane's Addiction's Mountain Song.
While PFP's on-stage happening looked very much like a real party, a good number of people in the stands seemed to have their noses pressed up against the glass.
SUN RATING: 3 OUT OF 5


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