By Kellie Green, VitalityXposed
If you like a little spooky and a lotta sexy with your rock n’ roll, you can have it all and more with Twin Temple. The packed Granada Theater in Lawrence, KS got to taste it all, and a little holy water, on Sunday, October 6. But before the ultra-talented and stunningly stylish couple took the stage with their skilled musical ensemble in tow, Creeper primed the crowd in full goth punk force.
Joining Twin Temple on their headlining tour, Creeper comes all the way from the United Kingdom with a horror punk look and sound that will immediately sink its teeth into you and not let go. Their latest album is, after all, titled “Sanguivore”, which is a creature that “nourishes on or consumes other animals’ blood”. Opening their set with “Cry to Heaven” off that very album, the spooky energy in the room went through the roof as they slayed a song that no doubt should be retroactively put on “The Lost Boys” soundtrack.
With 6 band members it’s a stage full of terrifying talent with haunting harmonies, daunting drums, and gory guitar riffs. Hannah Greenwood was rocking the keyboard and along with her gruesomely gorgeous vocals, she truly brings that extra eerie electricity. Their sound is a rollercoaster of influence seemingly derived from the likes of everything from Meat Loaf to The Misfits to what I imagine Elvis must have been like on Halloween. And I cannot stress this enough, IT WORKS. There’s a reason they have a stacked list of awards and such a huge following endearingly called the “creeper cult”. The cult most certainly fed their blood thirsty members and gained some new ones that night.
But the thirst for sex, blood, and rock n’ roll continued to be quenched with the main event. The sultry, satanic lovers of Lucifer and each other, Twin Temple sashayed onto the stage donning matching blood-red glam garb that was eye catching and soul snatching. Opening with their “ritual” leading right into “The Devil (Didn’t Make Me Do It)”, the crowd went absolutely barbaric without hesitation. With upside-down crosses, swords, skulls, and holy water as key components of the set design right from the start, you know you’re in for a truly sinful, hellish experience.
If you aren’t familiar, Twin Temple is like 50’s and 60’s doo-wop music, but with sexy goth girl lyrics. Picture this. It’s 1955. You’re going steady with a dream boat who let you borrow his letter sweater as you walk into the sock hop for a shake and some necking. You’re locking lips over by the jukebox. Your daddy-o with a ducktail puts in a dime and selects Twin Temple. A malicious melody fills the room from the black and white checkered floor to the pink ceiling. The lights all turn red. You hear the lyrics “Let’s Have a Satanic Orgy”. You get chills down your spine as you look down to find spiders in your shake. You slowly look back up. Your beau suddenly has a sinister smile creep across his darkened face, revealing two piercing fangs ready to dine on your blood. If you’re into that sort of fantasy, Twin Temple is for you. I know it shamelessly is for me.
But while the lyrics and instrumentals drip with fiendishly fun doo-wop sexual satanic energy, to include but not limited to a sensual saxophone breakdown, Twin Temple places just as much, if not more, emphasis on the biggest message behind their music: inclusion. Alexandra said, in her seductively soft and sweet voice, “We believe you should have the right to love whoever you want”. They made sure everyone in the room was loved and accepted and that everyone knew they were welcome. No matter what color, sexual identity, sexual orientation, whoever you are, you’re welcome in their temple. One lucky little devil in the crowd that shouted “Lesbians love you!” to Alexandra, received the special dark rose, but we all got doused with holy water and expectorated “blood”.
The entire set was filled with deviant dancing, iniquitous instrumentals, and vocals to die for. As incredible as they sound recorded in their signature vintage flare, Alexandra has a vocal range that should truly be experienced live. They closed out their vivaciously vicious set with “God Is Dead”, as the devilish duo ripped up bibles and tossed the pages out in the flagitiously feral crowd. If you think the crowd goes insane over Zachary’s guitar picks, stick around to see what they’ll do for torn out bible pages. There may have been actual bloodshed. But we were there for a barbarous bash after all, right?
