The Slasher Kings at Union Station's City Theater

mckitterick and I went to see The Slasher Kings show last night. I was bound and determined to go see this show, even if I had to go stag, and I am so glad I did.

I'm not a slasher-movie fan--horror movies in general aren't my thing--but I do my best to support local musician friends and I was feeling like an asshole for never making one of cskippy2000's shows when he was in The Family Band Massacre. When he mentioned this show, I swung by their website and checked out one of their videos. Hooked immediately. The music style deviates significantly from his previous band, and leans more toward hard 70s rock with some fantastic harmonica riffs thrown in. Thumbs up from this corner.

Everyone’s in on the joke here, and the band offers up their homage to slasher films with tongues firmly in cheek. Might be someone else’s tongue, but hey.

You don't need to know the movies or the characters to enjoy the show, although I think it's a rare person who won't get the references to at least one or two of the personalities portrayed (Mike Myers, Jason Voorhees, Hannibal Lecter, and Buffalo Bill). The show starts with a short film. It’s a nice set-up for the live performance, with great angles and a fantastic closing shot that perfectly references the rock-star-walking-down-the-arena-hallway that appears in all rock documentary movies.

The musical performance part of the show is basically 100% awesome. I'm not a fan of stage patter (just play the fucking music, guys), but the men playing Lecter and Bill were great and funny--even when they needed to fill some unexpected dead air to resolve a couple technical difficulties.

As I mentioned earlier, I went to the show mostly to support Curtis Smith, on bass as Mike Myers. Curtis's part is by far the most disturbing of the four, and the fact that the bass guitar is the most subtle instrument in this band highlights the creep factor. He (nearly literally) sneaks up on you. I don't want to ruin too much of the experience, so I'll just say that Curtis is the only character who doesn't remove his mask the entire show and that does a lot to encourage the sense of discomfort between him and the audience.

Matt Rapport, who plays Buffalo Bill, is an incredibly good performer. His characterization was excellent, his harmonica skills are ace, and damn if he doesn't give a wrenchingly emotive performance in the one part of the show that borders on seriousness (as well as earns it a mild R rating, btw--don't bring your kids to this show).

Jason (on drums and, for one song, on tenor sax) is played by John Lenati. Blocked by a drum set and a hockey mask for 90% of the show, Lenati doesn't have the opportunity to exude the level of menace as the other guys, but he's a fine drummer, and shines on the song where he plays the saxophone. That song, by the way, was the highlight of the show for me--a surprisingly heartbreaking piece performed sans drums or harmonica while Rapport gave a discomforting and silent performance downstage.

On guitar and main vocals, performing as Hannibal Lecter, is Ron Simonian. He also co-wrote and produced the show and wrote all the songs for the live part of show. This guy. Wow, this guy. He's got a good voice with a lot of character, and can sing several different styles (the songs are mostly hard rock, with some country, ballad, and punk influences thrown in the mix). He's not a stranger to the music scene in KC, and I'll be checking out more of the events/acts with which he's involved. Super talented (and really nice) guy.

If I had a way to make it to another performance, I would. Yes, seriously. It would be 100% worth another drive to KCMO. Alas, I'm leaving for Indianapolis this week, so it's not an option for me. But I would most definitely catch these guys at a club gig (I heard something referenced about the possibility during a brief after-show chat with a couple of the band members).

Have I sold you on it yet? I hope so. This show deserves to be seen by many, many people, and especially a couple of you here. I'm looking at you, philrancid and wyckedgood.

More show details, as well as a code for $5 off phone ticket orders can be found on the KC Horror Club website.

KC Star article highlighting frontman Ron Simonian here.

And of course, they're on Facebook.