The Nekromantics (and the lessons I learned from them)

Tuesday of this past week, I went with some of my darling co-workers to a show at the Rex in Southside. It was a spur-of-the-moment choice (the decision went something like this:)

K: Hey, R is coming to pick me up in half an hour. We’re seeing the Nekromantics at the Rex. Want to come?

Me: What are the Nekromatics?

K: They’re a psychobilly band.

Me: What’s psychobilly?

K: You’ll know it when you see it.

Me: I’m in.

We arrived at the Rex right as the show began. It was crowded with people in black clothes, many sporting neck tattoos and safety pin earrings. That’s about all that I noticed in the way of distinctive features, but Wikipedia (my favorite) defines Psychobilly as: “a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly, and gothabilly. Psychobilly is often characterized by lyrical references to science fiction, horror and exploitation films, violence, lurid sexuality, and other topics generally considered taboo, though often presented in a comedic or tongue-in-cheek fashion.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychobilly) Bored yet? Me too. Moving on.

The show was amazing. All three band members were ridiculously skilled. The female drummer, Lux, was sporting a sky-high virulent pink hairdo that gave me Aqua Net envy along with her crazy rhythms. The vocalist/bassist NekromaN laid it on the line, playing the bass backwards, upside down, and with his tongue. What more could a girl ask for? However, the show had its’ sobering moments too, such as the song with the touching portrayal of necrophilia, or the tragic instant where every ounce of deodorant in the place seemingly evaporated into thin air, leaving the crowd smelling like a mass of drunk, thrashing hobos. There was one unfortunate creature that looked as if she had made her overalls out of a bedspread, and smelled as if she had slept in them for three days… under a tarp, at high noon. She reeked so bad that it gave me PTSD, which brings me to my next point.

I’ve been using Tom’s of Maine deodorant for about five years now. Not only does the company follow ethical labor and manufacturing practices, but all their products are cruelty-free and they eschew the use of aluminum oxide in their deodorants. Sadly, they also seem to eschew the practice of making working bath supplies. Yeah, I’m a lady, but I sweat like a pig- and after that mass of hippie armpits on Tuesday, I realized that when it comes to deodorant, sometimes cruelty-free is the cruelest of all. The next day, I made my way down to Macy’s and picked up some Origins Organics Totally Pure Deodorant. It’s just as toxin-free as Tom’s, and it isn’t tested on animals, but it also comes in a cute little spray bottle and lasts- gasp- ALL DAY. (It's only a deodorant, not an antiperspirant, fyi) It’s $15 for a 3 months supply, which, if you go through a stick of deodorant a month, breaks even with the price of Tom’s. My one complaint is that it smells a little more like a man’s deodorant or cologne, but hey, it’s better than raw armpit, right? I may be a dirty hippie at heart, but I would really rather not smell like one.

Lessons learned: Have friends with good taste. Go to great shows. Buy functional deodorant. And don’t make your own overalls. 

Check out the band: http://www.myspace.com/nekromantix
Check out the hooch: http://reviews.origins.com/3814/PROD13478/totally-pure-deodorant-certified-organic-reviews/reviews.htm