Fallenescence
Written: July 18, 2004
Fallenescence is one part fan-boy tribute to one of my favorite bands, Evanescence, and one part rock concert. The name of this story (and if I'm going too quickly, here, I'll slow down) is a combination of Evanescence's second and best known album, "Fallen" and (here's the kicker) their name. I should say that there is little if any similarity between any of the band members and anyone in this story - Evanescence or any band would find themselves in a lot of trouble if they had a stage show like the one in Fallenescence.
There is a scene in Shadow Mists that attempts to capture the feel of a typical set in a bar and both that story and Fallenescence draw from my personal experiences on both sides of the microphone. I'll talk about performing in my Shadow Mists Forward. One of the wildest concerts I have ever seen was the Rob Zombie Sinister Urge concert - you could place what happens in Fallenescence smack dab in the middle of that concert with the only difficulty being (as the Brits might say) the naughty bits. I know that both bondage and perceived sexual acts have been part of concert lore for years, but I've never seen both at the same time - mainly because the sexual acts were perceived and not real. That leaves the barn door on bondage and sex open for Josh Groban, I guess.
What I was trying to get at with Fallenescence was a simple question: What if all it took was a simple signature on a waiver form to clear the way for public whipping and sexual gratification? I'm not implying setting a pillory up in every town square, complete with registration booth and flogger venders shelling the latest in PVC cats, but what if it were considered acceptable at a venue where it was almost expected? What if Metallica could string up a lovely and have Hetfield play her while singing "Master of Puppets"? What if Madonna really got lit up while singing "Hanky Panky". And what if Amy Lee, bless her heart, could legally (proper paperwork on file) go to town on a willing victim while she's singing "Taking Over Me". I guess that what I'm asking is this: what if we really did have a freedom of expression, unbound by mainstream religious morality, true complete freedom to pursue an idea, letting it go where it wanted as it found life. What if we didn't just think we were free, nestled snuggly in our transparent cages. What if we really were free.
Toran