Sundays in the Midwest are usually reserved for Church, but not here. This is Lawrence, after all. A quaint town full of heathens. So when it was announced that Twin Temple were coming through for a devilishly good time, everyone came-a-running.
If you’re not familiar with the husband-and-wife duo’s music, think Buddy Holly meets Elvira. The music is gorgeously vintage but with diabolical lyrics. When they stopped by the Granada on Sunday, it was leather daddies and goth girls as far as the eye could see. Alexandra James’ breathy banter complimented her sultry burlesque movement as she buttered up the audience, while Zachary James worked them into a frenzy with guitar solos (the sax player also drove them pretty feral). When Alexandra asked the crowd “Who wants to have a satanic orgy?!” before diving into their song “Let’s Have A Satanic Orgy,” the fans were positively giddy over it. All their songs have delightfully punny plays on satanism (“Satan’s A Woman,” “Lucifer, My Love,” “The Devil [Didn’t Make Me Do It]”). “Lesbians love you!” someone in the crowd blurted out. What a rapport! Thank goodness Twin Temple landed in very gay Lawrence for this tour.
This is a band that really hammed up the theatrics for the crowd. Dressed head-to-toe in blood red vintage attire and SO MANY SEQUINS, they took the stage spraying everyone with holy water. There was a lot of flirting in the banter between songs, crowd chants of “Let’s go Satan!” (the same way you’d hear “Let’s go Jayhawks!” at a football game), and tons of twirls and kicks. The crowd was immaculate, dressed to the nines, and everyone was absolutely killing it with their style. Leather gloves, chains, hot red makeup all over their bodies. Hail Slaytan, indeed.
They were joined by Creeper, who gave major Freddie Mercury and The Darkness (who started out as a queen cover band) vibes. This band, like the headliner, delivered a masterclass in crowd work. Though we must admit, it wasn’t hard to butter up this already excitable crowd. “This is a song about murder!” Crowd cheers fanatically. Delightful!