Fischerspooner Celebrates LGBTQ Culture and Honors the Resistance at L.A.’s Fonda Theatre

Sandra Miska

Electroclash duo Fischerspooner played to a pack crowd at the Fonda Theatre in the heart of Hollywood on Thursday night, and the enthusiastic attendees, many of whom were in costume, were treated to quite the show. In an interview with Entertainment Voice this past February, Casey Spooner promised a fun show that would show that would be both sexy and “super gay,” and he and Warren Fisher did not fail to deliver.

Fischerspooner, who has been performing for two decades, kicked things off with “Oh Rio,” a deeply personal song for Spooner about figuring out his sexuality as a young boy in Georgia. “Oh Rio” is just one of several songs the guys performed from “Sir,” the long-awaited album they released in February after a nine-year hiatus from releasing new music. Deeper and darker than previous records, the Michael Stipe-produced “Sir” is also notable for being a no apologies celebration of LGBTQ culture. The crowd went wild for the party anthem “TopBrazile,” as well as the numerous other new songs performed throughout the evening, including “Strut,” “Strange Strange,” “Never Win,” “Butterscotch Goddam,” “Get It On,” “Discreet,” “Togetherness,” “Have Fun Tonight,” and “Everything Is Just Alright.” The setlist may have been heavy on the new stuff, but they  also treated loyal fans to some old favorites, including a snippet of “Emerge,” “Get Confused,” and the song that first brought them to prominence, “The 15th,” a cover of a 1979 single from by Wire.

Performance artists as well as musicians, Fischerspooner’s live shows tend to be visually stunning, and the Fonda show was no exception, as several buff male dancers in a variety of revealing costumes joined them onstage during their electric set. But it wasn’t all fun and games. Instead of an encore, they ended the show with several dancers waving protest signs, bringing attention to issues such as obstruction of justice, women’s rights and gun control, labeling them all as LGBTQ issues.

The evening opened with Tommie Sunshine, a Brooklyn-based DJ who got the crowd pumped with a lively set. Between his sets was a drag show hosted by the one and only Detox, a drag performer known for appearing on two seasons of the hit Logo reality competition series “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Detox and friends took the stage for about a half an hour, leaving the audience wanting more.

Fischerspooner performed March 15 at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, CA.