Amongst the many figures recently gracing Bushwick with their notoriety, legendary industrial music icons of former Throbbing Gristle fame, Chris and Cosey (who go under the moniker Carter Tutti), graced the Radio Bushwick stage last weekend in an unannounced show following a sold out performance at Santos Party House (noticing a trend?). If you weren’t at Sunday’s show, you missed some of the biggest musical legends Bushwick has seen in the flesh, but luckily, Bushwick Daily was there to cover all the good stuff.
Cosey Fanni Tutti on the stage
…and Chris Carter…
Depending on the age bracket you fall into, you may or may not have heard of the band Carter Tutti was born of: Throbbing Gristle. The controversial English band first invaded airwaves back in the late 1970s with the multi-instrumental, experimental, and dark minimal sound. They are said to be among the pioneers of the Industrial music genre, influencing countless genres from Post-Punk, New Wave, Techno and beyond. After Throbbing Gristle dissolved in 1981, Chris & Cosey continued to create music in a “techno-noir” style, with a slew of tracks that became dark-dance floor hits. Their most recent album, 2012’s Transverse, is an experimental live concert recording with Nik Colk Void, and came out to good reviews despite its unpredictable collectiveness.
The concert came as a surprise to Industrial fans, as the duo have not performed live on the east coast since 1991. Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti were in town for a Throbbing Gristle-related X-T-G “live remix” show at MoMA PS1 as well as the Carter Tutti live performance at Santos Party House. The MoMA PS1 performance was part of the Mike Kelley retrospective, and was dedicated to both Kelley and Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson, a Throbbing Gristle band mate who passed in 2010. On a side note, iconic, controversial, and gender-bending Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, the fourth and final ex-Throbbing Gristle member is a Brooklyn resident, and performs sporadically throughout the borough under the longtime Psychic TV moniker.
Last Sunday, at the last minute show, fans lineup up for first come, first serve standing room within Radio Bushwick, our favorite new space in the area. Its 280 capacity space was filled to the hilt, yet the intimate venue encouraged dancing and the duos vociferous audio. Carter Tutti’s hour-plus set delighted fans with a change from their more mellow side on record, visible only by the luminosity off their horrifically warped video projections. Fans were delighted to hear such tracks as the ominous “Driving Blind,” a trance inducing “Coolicon,” and rehashed and revamped dancefloor staples ” Heartbeat” and “October Love Song.”A tour CD, titled Carter Tutti Remix Chris & Cosey, was available at both shows. Until the next epic show, Radio Bushwick!