Maniquinn

"...In reality, Maniquinn is probably the most original act I have ever seen in Chaleston. The only thing I can equate Maniquinn's performance to is the King Street Palace performance by George Clinton and the P-funk Allstars from about a decade ago. During that show Clinton dressed in a bed sheet that was decorated with images from Disney's Alladin and one member of the band chose a wedding dress as his onstage ensemble.

Now that I think about it, Clinton's show was positively tame compared to Maniquinn's set Saturday night. Maniquinn consists of Kristopher Kartier and Yukari Yucca. The pair met at audio engineering school a few years back and have been making strange and beautiful music together ever since. I have heard about Maniquinn shows from friends but had not yet had a chance to see the band for myself. The Maniquinn experience relies just as much on visual stimuli as it does sound. Prior to Karter and Yucca begining to play, the stage had been decorated with dress-making dummies, wig display heads, and a five foot tall Frankenstein doll. There was also an impressive bank of colored lights enhanced by a fog machine.

I can honestly say that I have no idea what Karter and Yucca played during Maniquinn's set, but that doesn't keep me from naming the performance as one of the single most original things I have ever witnessed. Compared to Maniquinn, Blue Man Group is a community theatre production of "Our Town.'

While Yucca spent her time playing keyboards and the 3-stringed Japanese Shamissen, Karter played guitar, manned the drum-machines, and sported an ever-changing selection of wigs. During the performance, two young women, one with a Mohawk and the other dressed like something out of a Buggles video from the early 80's (bee-hive wig, big sunglasses, flourecent leggings), did some sort of strange, interepretive dance that involved passing a crudely decorated doll between them. I have no idea what that interpretive dance was attempting to interpret, but it only made the already weird performance more bizzare..." - Devin Grant (chucktowncritic@hotmail.com)

Please take the time to view other .pdf Press Links at Maniquinn's website: http://www.maniquinn.com - Various Authors