My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult at the Highline Ballroom

Groovie Mann

Frankie Nardiello and Marston Daley met in 1987 while touring together with the industrial rock band Ministry. Collaborating in Chicago, Illinois, Nardiello and Daley began to conceive a trashy B-movie to be called My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult – a headline taken from a British tabloid Nardiello recalled from when he lived in London. The film was never realized, but they released the completed songs as a three-track EP. Dubbing themselves Groovie Mann (Nardiello) and Buzz McCoy (Daley), they launched a project and then a band named My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult (often shortened to Thrill Kill Kult or TKK). The electronic industrial rock band grew controversial for its satirical take on sex, religion and the occult. The band relocated to Los Angeles, California, and has continued to record and tour with a rotating lineup in addition to core members Mann and McCoy. My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult's 12th and most album is 2014's Spooky Tricks.

Headlining at the Highline Ballroom tonight, Mann on vocals and McCoy on synthesizer were accompanied by a guitarist, bassist and two backing vocalists. TKK spun its humorous lyrics to heavy but danceable electro rhythms. The brew was a concoction of experimental, disco, and new wave, interlaced between songs with sampled dialogue. Man made for a colorful front person as he sang pumped up versions of "Sex on Wheelz" and other 1990s fan favorites. The weakness in the band was that the gothic industrial music scene has moved beyond this epoch, to music that is heavier and more complex, like KMFDM and Combichrist. TKK was still as much fun as ever, but to stay on top, the band must ramp up its creative output.

Visit My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult at www.mylifewiththethrillkillkult.com.