No Matter How Dark It Gets, There Will Be Protomen!

I realize that the title of our blog is 'Girls Dig Comics Too' but for our first real blog I have decided to cover the amazing show we went to on Thursday. Or, more accurately, I obsessed over for weeks and made Debra come with me because a) she's a geek so I knew she would like it and b) she has a car and I don't. [literally dragged me! and the venue was in this little place under a bridge called the Midtown but the GPS took us to a parking lot next to a cemetery.... everyone was like WTF? but apparently even the band made this mistake so no sweat]

SO! Background on the Protomen: a super geeky band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee - they do a Megaman themed rock opera show that will blow your mind [really my mind was in a puddle of awesomeness by the end of the show]. The members all have code names and insist that they live in a compound called Thundercon, never breaking character. The music itself is heavily 80s influenced, and smoothly transitions from one song to the next, adding to the feel of the story. The storyline follows Dr. Light's rebellion against evil Dr. Wily, through his sons Protoman and Megaman, and their battle for the fate of mankind, who all end up dying anyway. It's okay, they deserve it. And the most fun part is, there's plenty of room for audience participation, specifically as the role of the dying humans. You get to scream 'we are the dead' at the top of your lungs a whole bunch - and who wouldn't want to do that?

After me raving about how fantastic they were and telling the entire story in detail to Debra and her adorable roommate Kim, she decided she wanted to come with us! Which, as you will see, was a good decision on her part. She's a 4'9" conservative Christian [Catholic, if that counts for anything] girl, so Debra took the opportunity to... dress her up a little. (I did her hair if it counts for anything?)

Cute right? Alright so we get there early-ish and the bands that are playing are.. unfortunate, for lack of a better word [for lack of a better word... I can think if a few... God awful to start with, continuing down a list of scathing and mean words till I get to the part where I call them retards with puppets on their hands (no really there was a band with puppets--a little puppy and a shark) headbanging to sub par screamo imitations... lack of better words I think not]. I've never been a fan of hardcore music, and neither were the other two girls, so needless to say it wasn't an enjoyable experience. I tried to be nice for a while but as the night wore on from eight until ten I could probably be quoted as saying 'get off the fucking stage, I just want to see the Protomen' several times. [about 24x]

And see them I did! But first I ogled the men wandering around in robot makeup while they were setting up, bouncing and stressing and making Debra and Kim laugh at how excited and anxious I was [like a child with sugar]. Oh, yes, I forgot to mention - they dress up.

Up front was of course the only place to be, with all the superfanboys - there was even one guy that had a robot gun arm [and a second with a fuzzy parka and gasmask, Tatooine reject anyone?], I really wish we had taken a picture. But we have a few decent ones from the show:

A few comments on the photos: Yes, that is a keytar. The red helmet in the third picture is also a microphone, which is too cool to even say things about [the techie in me just fainted at the awesomeness of making a Megaman helmet into a functioning microphone! it was supercool]. And the last blurry photo is, from what I can tell, a new member. In his words, "They call me Turbo Lover." His song was one of the highlights of the night for sure - he's a really animated performer and a lot of fun onstage. Next time I'll have video I promise [there is one on my youtube account (Redwicca240) titled oddly enough Protomen]. I even got a picture with him, like the ridiculous fangirl that I am. (Actually Debra is just camera crazy in the embarrassing way that your mother is, and makes you pose for pictures out of nowhere.) [NOTE: I took them because she was wimpy and meek but we all knew she wanted the damn pictures taken.]

Okay, okay, okay I've been going on and on and I haven't even gotten to the best part. Sorry. Tiny Kim, the least geeky of us three and certainly the one feeling most out of place at the beginning of the night, is actually having a great time. When we get to the epilogue, K.I.L.R.O.Y. (the tall guy in the silver mask) jumps offstage, scoops up all less-than-five-feet of her, throws her over his shoulder, and puts her onstage.

Dancing next to Panther? Yes she was. I was jealous in a million ways until I got to talk to him and even a hug after the show. Now that I think of it, that's one of the best things about the Protomen. Not that they put on a fucking awesome show, but just that they're a really nice group of guys/girls and genuinely interested in talking and interacting with their fans (some of which I will admit are a bit creepy, myself included probably) [once again, understatement... a bit creepy is for the man in the corner store checking you out.. Protomen fans are... obsessive to say the least]. I bought a poster and asked the band to sign it, and the drummer, the Reanimator, ran around looking for a silver sharpie for me, and getting people to sign it. Everyone was amiable and fun to talk to and I just enjoyed every second of their show and the time I spent after it.

A battle has been fought in Knoxville, and I believe the Protomen to be victorious. Hopefully another battle will need to be fought soon. I will certainly be there to join the resistance, and maybe I can even wrangle more friends into coming.

That's all for now. We'll be back soon with a round of comic talk, I swear.

Love,
Aria [and Debra]