(overheard between a drunken John & a drunken xJane at last night’s Abney Park concert)
Background: Yesterday, xJane was sitting around, slightly ill, and generally feeling sorry for herself. Whilst innocently watching Emmy consideration DVDs, she received a call from John, who asked if she was busy (she was not) and if she was interested in a steam punk event (she was). What followed was a scramble to finish the DVD (it’s an interesting & funny show, and I recommend it to all and sundry), google costumes, create a costume, finish laundry & dishes, see if I could rope anyone else into this (it’s like drugs: cosplay seems more normal if you can convince other people to do it with you, right Onigiri?), google hairstyles, make & eat dinner, shower, and get all steampunked up.
She then drove to the venue, which is the perfect place for such an event, and immediately knew she was in the right place. Perhaps 2% of the people who showed up were not in cos. Twas tres cool. She stood in line in the chilly LA air for a while, then was allowed to wait inside for John (who was then allowed to skip the line!). Many thanks to Isaac for the tix, for then we entered the 1870s. Or some kind of approximation there of.
Steampunk is hard to define, but I usually go with “Victorian futurism”. It’s was the future would look like if it were trapped in the past. Think the Time Machine, Golden Compass, Diamond Age. It generally involves lots of gears, leather, and zeppelins. It has some hardcore overlap with the Goth scene (although there is less blood involved in steampunk, there are arguably more corsets) as well as DIY/Makers.
The Edison in downtown LA is a steampunk-themed bar. It is always steampunk themed but may not always be as overrun with steampunks than it was last night. It may actually be a historic landmark (and if it’s not it should be): it’s the first private powerplant in LA…turned into a bar. The generators, coal-furnaces, and just all around ambiance is still there. They even have a steampunk dress code (which stresses no “athletic wear of any kind” and that they “strive to more quickly accommodate those who” dress steampunk). It’s a place I would certainly go back to for drinks & perhaps a bite to eat.
Abney Park is a great band whose music might be described as “industrial punk with Eastern/Arabian influences” if not for the lyrics (check out their favorite, played twice last night, “Airship Pirate“). They had a great presence and awesome fan interaction (singing along, stopping songs in the middle because of a mistake, jokes, &c.). They play electric guitar, bass guitar, piano, violin, and djembe (yes, electric djembe) all of which have been steampunked out. And they play them well. This is not just a bunch of weirdos who think they’re a band. This is a band who is also a bunch of weirdos. But in their defense, so is their audience (watching the Artful Dodger and gentlemen with muttonchops mosh is friggin’ awesome). And so am I.
John nor I do this on a what you might call regular basis, so our steampunk was a little mild (although the darkened & sunken eyes that Jana pulled of on John were the perfect effect!) compared to some most of those in attendance. Unfortunately, I do not have a corset on hand for just such events. This shall be remedied soon (hear that, John? lemmie know when they’re back in town). Nor goggles, nor top hat (though I should have spectacles somewhere, which I shall find & superglue to an appropriately dainty stick to hold to my face). John did admirably with $12 and a borrowed hat. And DH has a remarkable amount of steampunk stuff hanging around: too bad he has no inclination in that direction. But I think we did quite well on short notice and with no practice. I could totally get into this.
Since it was John, there was much emphasis that evening on absinthe, of which there was plenty to be had. We each had a shot of heavily sweetened absinthe from and we split a “Hemmingway”: a shot of absinthe mixed with champagne. We then went and sat down for a while. We ended the evening with Denny’s before slinking home, glad that, at 2AM none of my neighbors was around to ask what I was wearing.
I thoroughly enjoyed (and survived) the whole schmear: the dress up, the drinks, the people, the event. Who knew that heavy drinking was good for a cold? John & I met at the venue before the concert started and had a chance to wander into each of the little alcoves to check out the decor (John kept commenting on the attention to detail) as well as the people. And once again I have to give props to the effect of the Masque: people walked up to me as though they’d known me for years, “Those are awesome gloves!” and we’d start talking about little boutiques in Marin county. Staring is encouraged in this kind of a venue. Some of the people even had their own personas (I heard one gentleman introduce himself as Baron von [something german]). I found myself wondering who these people were in meatspace, for want of a better term. Do they wear goggles to their offices? Or are they corporate lawyers in the day light and corseted wenches only in the shadows of the Edison?
And what causes people to get into this? Cosplay at a con is one thing, but cosplay at a bar takes it to a whole nother level. I wonder if there isn’t some of the camaraderie of religion that attracts people to this: if you know they’re into [Jesus, Buddha, steampunk], you already have something in common. John mentioned that there was a notable increase in the amicability of the people at the Edison last night (as opposed to people in everyday life). And it was true: the gentlemen opened doors for each other & for the ladies (even if they were wenches). Perhaps some of the attraction of the Victorian lifestyle is the level of politeness that is acceptable in mixed company. I just like the corsets. And the gears. And I’m totally going to look for costume pieces the next time I’m at the army surplus store. This is totally my bag (and if not for John, I’d not’ve known!).
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10 responses so far ↓
1 John // May 26, 2008 at 9:03 pm
This is the best possible write-up. Amen, Sistah xJane! You’ve started something though–you realize we may have to blog Anime Expo now…
I am still deeply impressed with your resourcefulness to bring the entire costume together with barely any notice, and no reliance on external sources (e.g. Goodwill).
Jana challenges the “drunken” descriptor though. When I described our antics, she thinks we were merely “tipsy.”
One last thought–it still intrigues me that there is an alternative, counter-cultural phenomenon based, of all things, on Victorian England when the Industrial Revolution was at *cough* full steam *cough*. We’re still recoiling from the sense environmental entitlement, scientific positivism, and economic and cultural imperialism of the era, and have full-on rebelled against the social stratification and sexual prudence that so characterizes it.
Literary steampunk satirizes the cultural and scientific naivite of the time by contrasting these with the roguish, negative aspects of exploitation of humanity and the environment (that’s partly why the ‘punk’ is in there). And maybe this tension is what it all boils down to: taking the proper gentleman and throwing him into a mosh pit, selectively and willfully exposing one’s bloomers and corsets to the public.
2 John // May 26, 2008 at 9:03 pm
BTW, if anyone else is interested in being informed of these events, leave a comment or drop me a line.
3 Lessie // May 27, 2008 at 6:00 am
I don’t know that our family’s favorite dress up event counted as a criticism on society, but my folks, my sister, and I used to go to mountain man rendezvous when I was growing up. We had a teepee, my dad made buckskin clothes to wear, we camped for two or three days with other folks who also like to play dress up. I think there’s just something about being able to slip into another time and/or identity that appeals to all of us if we’re just willing to do it.
4 Jana // May 27, 2008 at 7:06 am
xJane:
It was fun to hear your perspective on this event after hearing it from John’s. Fun! I was really wishing that it had been any other night so I could have attended, too.
I wonder if you’d be willing to offer some observations about the way that women’s bodies were sexualized by the gymnasts, the absinthe girl, etc. While I realize some of this is in keeping with the period did it seem over-the-top in a 21st century setting? Was your inner feminist okay with it?
5 catBonny // May 27, 2008 at 9:15 am
That looks like it was a blast!
6 xJane abroad // May 27, 2008 at 11:34 am
John: there is a scale of drunkenness & we were definitely between the two edges of “buzzed” and “hammered”. Plus, in the heat of a blogging moment, “drunken” sounds better than “tipsy” :-p IMHO. Don’t worry to all & sundry: we were safe drivers home.
Lessie: that sounds like so much fun! I did Burning Man, which might count as dress-up camping, but your version sounds quite awesome.
Jana: I missed you–it was quite the awesome event & while I was glad I got to go, I’m sorry you could not make it. My inner feminist was surprisingly unperturbed by both sexualizations.
…I cannot access MySpace right now, which I require to back up my position. More when I get home, promise.
7 xJane // May 27, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Sorry, our store blocks MySpace (with good reason) and I wanted to back up my own feelings with the band’s (presumed) position.
First of all, people on stage are going to be looked at; from “Nathaniel “Two Sheds” Johnstone- Guitar, Violin, Stockroom, Doling Out the Shots (Drinkable and Otherwise)” of the belt-hair and kilt to “Kristina “Angel” Erickson - Keyboards, Vocals, Navigation, Accounting, Skepticism” of the comically large grommets. I think each member of the band chose the method that they were going to be looked at more by their actions than anything else. The keyboardist (in the background of this shot) was actually wearing less than the vocalist/dancer yet the “objectified” was without a doubt “Finn Von Claret - Writhing and Wailing”.
I don’t think anyone was there to hear or to see Finn herself, but she was certainly the focus of a lot of attention. I don’t feel that her “writhing” is a calculated sexist move (which doesn’t make it non-sexist). And ultimately, I don’t feel that it was an action that was insisted upon by the men: it seemed to be completely Finn’s choice. And that? I have no problem with.
There was one song, about a mechanical doll, which included Finn doing the ballet-robot (a la the Nutcrack Suite). That was a little weirder to me. It is, perhaps more even than Airship Pirate, the quintessential steampunk song: about a man creating a clockwork woman to dance for him & for other men who pay him. And it was a great song, and I enjoyed her robot dance, but again, it was a little weird to me. Here is the lead singer pretending to wind up a dancer who is pretending to be his robot; and here is the audience, who has paid both singer & dancer to see the robot dance…there was a definite squik factor there.
The trapeze artists are a slightly different subject. They performed during one song and my first thought was that they were part of the club, not part of the band (in fact, I think I had this exact conversation with John). It was very Cirque du Soleil: amazing acrobatics in tight clothing. What else are you going to wear while doing amazing acrobatics? And yes, the flesh-colored jumpsuits were probably a little more over the top than they needed to be (they got me looking to see what I might be able to see). I don’t know how period-correct that was, perhaps I need to spend more time with the history books (naked acrobats! that’s why I became a historian!), so to me it seemed like a modern thing.
I guess I’m on the fence about the acrobats (and their kiss): is it all just show? Is it indicative of a power imbalance? Or is it just two talented women sharing their talents? (Not those talents, I meant their acrobatics. Really.)
According to Abney Park’s blog, they contracted the trapeze artist for this gig. Still on the fence: she’s certainly talented and how much work can there be for a trapeze artist these days? But there are questions that I cannot answer that would shed more light onto this particular issue.
and finally, Madame Fey. For a while, I didn’t realize that she was pushing a cart & hawking absinthe. I thought the wings were just part of someone’s evening attire (not technically athletic, I didn’t think). And in the dark, despite the photo, you had to stare pretty hard at her ass (which was just at my level while sitting on the bench) to realize that she was wearing a see-through dress. It may well have been calculated to get people to look at her & therefore to buy her alcools, although given the lighting I think that would have been accomplished by the fact that she was wearing green fairy wings. Does she wear the same dress each night? Even if Madame Fey is someone else for that shift? If so, definite issues. Is this just what she pulled out of the closet (or found in that awesome little place on Sunset)? Less issues.
The first thing it reminded me of was my friend who, the first time I met her, confided that this beautiful velvet dress that she was wearing was her favorite dress because it’s so formfitting that she can’t wear underwear when she wears it and she just loves not wearing underwear! Which is a lot of information for poor little me with my hand out-stretch, “hi, my name is…” She, who would love this club, btw, would probably purposely wear such a dress if she were le Fey in question. Partly because she could get away with it (because of the atmosphere and because of the lack of lighting) and partly because it would attract attention, speculation, and customers. Sitting here, however, it reminds me more of the (what I find problematic) sexy nurse who works at the local Howl at the Moon. She, too, works the crowd selling shots (jello shots in novelty syringes) and who, when you buy a shot, will climb into your lap, straddle you, and then shoot the syringe into your waiting an open mouth. (With a chaser of whipped cream.) As much as Howl at the Moon can be a fun place to hang out, I think it needs some major sensitivity training. This being the most egregious but by no means the only offense against women perpetrated on a nightly basis there.
Once again, I will appeal to who chose the action in question. Is her job description “be sexy”? Or just “wear green wings”? Does she feel that she needs to wear see through dresses to sell her quota? (That would be a feminist problem for society at large rather than for her employer.) Does her employer encourage see-through clothes, tacitly or explicitly? Or does she like the dress?
The feminist lens is a hazy one. At the end of the day, I will always bring it down to the woman in question. Does she feel exposed or manipulated? Does she feel free to perform/dress how she wishes?
If she does not feel manipulated, is she nonetheless, by virtue of society, circumstances, and whathaveyou? This is the really hard one for me. I could see how in each of the cases above, an argument could be made that she really had no choice and was forced into it by [insert reason]. But at some point you have to trust that grown women can make their own decisions (and should not be kept out of the workforce “for their own good”, which is a frequent argument by
idiotspatriarchalists) and can know their own mind.None of these situations was especially problematic to me because there seemed, to me, to be ample opportunity for each of them not to have happened. Therefore, without interviewing all four of them, I’d be unable to rule them all anything but fine by me.
I, too, wore a low-cut shirt. Many women were in miniskirts, corsets, or strapless gowns. Neo-Victorianism notwithstanding, none of this skin shocked anyone (so far as I could tell). And plenty of women did conceal their sexy sexy ankles and elbows from public view. One of the greatest parts about the club was that I got a feeling of safety and respect from everyone. There were no creepy guys (something I just realized). There were guys looking at me, there were guys who were probably disappointed that I had a chaperone, but there were no guys who I would not have been comfortable being alone with in the dark alley just outside. And since the whole group had that feeling, I’m even more confident that the four women in question were emancipated, if you will.
8 John // May 28, 2008 at 3:56 pm
xJane, this is a comment worthy of post status. I never feel quite right analyzing these situations because my own biological and social conditioning conflicts with what academic and political training tells me is objectification and exploitation. I’m never quite sure where one ends and the other begins.
BTW, your “sexy ankles” comments reminds me of a couple of lines from a song by the Shins:
Just a glimpse of ankle and I
React like it’s 1805
9 Elaine // May 28, 2008 at 4:26 pm
All analysis aside (even though it is relevant and interesting), it just sounds like it was a fun, fun night.
This is one of the reasons I hate living where I do…nothing like this ever goes on around here. Or, if it does, it is kept awfully quiet.
10 xJane // May 28, 2008 at 7:26 pm
John: I realized that only after I’d hit “submit” :-p
Elaine: it was very fun. Onigiri & I are already plotting a Thursday (35¢ martinis!) evening there. You’re welcome to visit anytime…but a quick internet search may indeed reveal devotees near you. Perhaps not a whole speakeasy…
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