Lords of Acid at the Gramercy Theatre

Praga Khan and DJ Mea

During Belgium's New Beat period some 25 years ago, producer Maurice Engelen, known professionally as Praga Khan, used dozens of musical vehicles to produce various kinds of dance music. The acid house "I Sit on Acid" in 1988, attributed to the then-fictitious Lords of Acid, became an international dance club hit in part due to its sexually-explicit lyrics, and so Khan developed a concept, more music and a real band around it. "I Sit on Acid" was followed by two more sexually-charged singles, "Rough Sex" and "I Must Increase My Bust." The 1991 album Lust, again attributed to the Lords of Acid, was recorded especially for the American market, folding rock guitars into techo dance music. Additional albums would lean increasingly towards the new industrial movement, with more screaming guitars, dark danceable techno rhythms and risqué tongue-in-cheek lyrics shouted by women singers. Now based in America, Lords of Acid presently consists of Khan on synthesizers and programming, lead vocalist Mea Fisher (a.k.a. DJ Méa), guitarist Joe Haze (of <PÎG>), keyboardist Roland Turner, backing vocalist Devon Disaster, bassist DieTrich Thrall (of Doyle), and drummer Galen Waling (of <PÎG>). Lords of Acid's eighth and most recent album is 2017's Pretty in Kink.

Lords of Acid came tonight to the Gramercy Theatre on its first North American tour in six years and performed the 1994 album Voodoo-U in its entirety, plus a handful of additional songs. While Praga Khan was the mastermind behind the project, the audience was focused on vocalist DJ Méa, who danced, sang the raunchy lyrics and occasionally touched herself provocatively. The songs were constructed around deep electro-industrial grooves and outrageously sexual lyrics that made the concert fun. Méa came on stage dressed in fetish wear, brandishing a microphone in one hand and a leather belt in the other hand as she repeatedly whipped the stage and the butts of other band members. During "Rubber Doll," an inflated sex doll was tossed into the audience, which ripped it apart and threw it around for the duration of the song. Towards the end of the concert, keyboardist Roland Turner invited women from the audience to dance on stage to "Pussy." The fast, throbbing pulse of the set turned the night into a rave, as Lords of Acid provided the soundtrack for the R-rated party.

Visit Lords of Acid at www.lordsofacid.com.

Setlist:

1. Voodoo-U
2. Young Boys
3. Dirty Willy
4. Drink My Honey
5. She and Mrs. Jones
6. Mister Machoman
7. Blowing Up Your Mind
8. Do What You Wanna Do
9. Out Comes the Evil
10. The Crablouse
11. Rubber Doll
12. Rough Sex/Take Control
13. Pussy
14. Scrood Bi U

Encore:

1. The Most Wonderful Girl
2. I Sit on Acid