The Blasterthon, Night One

If you missed Friday night’s Blasterthon premiere in the Red Room at Normal's you missed a room full of love and a smorgasbord of derangement. John Pego Berndt filling in some of Blaster’s bio, including his brutal period trying to stay out of the Hell of Vietnam. And his secret life as the Lothario of the Mail Art World!

Plus there was hard charging performances by Rotty What with poet and publisher John M. Bennett, saxophonist Jack Wright and percussionist, frotteur, sound originator Ben Bennett, Kevin Takacs recounting tales of “The Old Spice Gang”, Bonnie Jones revealing her morbid dental history which used to enrapture Blaster, Catherine Bennett performing some of Blaster’s final texts, Bethany Sick Din going down a vocal dream corridor pursuing a dog and then Lauren Bender finished off the night by appearing in Blaster full dress all the way down to the slightly orphopedic white sneaks with untied laces. And the ever present beer and black plastic bag. (His were all from the Schnapp Shoppe).

And I swear to the gods that in the Red Room during the kickoff of the Blasterthon I heard Chris Toll’s chuckle twice and that of Peter Pan! Two sterling spirits visiting us from Beyond.