Ink N Iron (Day 2)
Queen Mary
June 9, 2013
Ink N Iron was in full swing by the time we arrived on Saturday afternoon. People were clearly excited to be there dressed up in their pin up outfits, showing off their tattoos or even getting some ink at the festival for the day that boasted punk icons Iggy and the Stooges, the Dead Kennedys, Rocket From the Crypt and many more.
It didn't seem to be as crowded this year in the ink area which was nice because we actually had a chance to look around the various artists booths without feeling packed inside like a can of sardines. Some artists, like Axl and Melanie from Inky und Stretchy in Germany, were excited to be able to come back to the ship/show to see bands and do some tattoos for some fans that had booked them six months in advance from a Utah convention.
See Also:
*Ink N Iron (Day 1) – Queen Mary – June 8, 2013
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The tattooing area wasn't the only thing that seemed to have improved since last year. They had put more shows in different parts of the ship and I was able to catch a burlesque show up on the Queen's deck. It was amazing. Scarlett James was a true burlesque dancer, she was wearing a cute under the bust white corset and a glittery thong and bra, compared to her milky white skin and blonde hair, she looked like she had walked out of the 50's. She did not go over the top with her sexuality and gave the audience a show that left them hungry for more.
After her was Brittany Walsh, the equilibrist, who performed her debut show. This woman brought out two little poles that were no more then two inches wide and she was performing on top of them like she was doing one-handed hand stands, bending her body completely in half where her toes were touching the back of her head. Even in a simple white tank top and panties, her elegance was incredible. It was truly a story being told with the song. At the very end she gets up on her two hands, the host places a loaded bow and arrow between her legs and toes, she pulls the bow with her toes and shots at a target almost making a bulls eye. It was the shit.
The next dancer that went on after her was Charlotte Treuse and her picture was the biggest in the booklet, center and all and her show was a stripper show by the virtue of the fact that at one point she bent over with her vagina in the audience's face and dry humped a carousel horse.
By the end of the evening it was time to see the Dead Kennedys, though their performance lacked the kind of spark we're used to seeing from the band, resulting in a mediocre performance. I'm not the biggest Dead Kennedys fan, but I know a few songs but I could bare even hear those because the vocals were so low and Klaus Flouride's bass was so high–easily over powering the guitar of East Bay Ray. However, it didn't even seem like they cared if they were there or not, they had no energy on stage an although the fans were responding to them nicely, its because of the name not what was going on stage. I was disappointed I expect to see more then I got.
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The main event of course was Iggy Pop and The Stooges. I sat on the Queen's deck right above the stage so I was able to see Iggy before he walked on and everyone on the deck started screaming as he waived to the people, the opening chords of “Raw Power” rang out across the audience signaling the punk icon's moment to go wild. For the most part their sound was good but the vocals were a little low, they should have been turned up 3-4 notches higher and it would have been better. Despite that, Iggy made his vocals well heard. You knew what song he was playing and he was excited to be playing with the Stooges. His presences were very spastic but it was great to see.
During his howling classic “Fun House,” he had pulled up 30 people on stage, one woman had literally fell on top of him so you see little ass Iggy Pop pinned on the stage by some chick trying to spastically get off. That did not deter him from his performance at all. In fact when they had gotten to song I Want to be your Dog, the crowed was so excited that within the first note a huge mosh pit had been formed. It was a great performance and Iggy made sure to even turn around and give us love behind him.
Overall, the crowd coexisted wonderful together I didn't see one fight, so many people were dressed up beautifully in their pin up close and if you wanted the hair and make up for 75 dollars you could get it. The little booths around selling stuff had some modestly priced home made roses, bows and feathers, which is always nice to see.
The Crowd: People ages 20-50s, punk, metal, pin ups, heavily tattooed, no tattoos and kids with their parents. No one seemed to be overly aggressive this year it was very nice.
Personal Bias: I saw the Rasputin's Marinettes, I was expecting something on the serial killer, no that's the name of the company it was about the freak show. It was still a pretty cool thing to see, it takes a lot of talent to do that.
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