Story and Photography by Timothy Schumann • www.facebook.com/Photography513
When I look up “Bands in Town” to see who’s coming to El Paso, all the way to November, as I did a couple of weeks ago,
18 shows stood out to me. Some of the bands I may have heard of and others I knew real well, but as is my, I generally
write all the pertinent information down on a calendar and research the contact information, in order to obtain credentials
the week of the show. The Birthday Massacre was not on that list, even though my good friend Travis (who works security
at TRICKY FALLS) inquired at the PIERCE THE VEIL show, if I was covering The Birthday Massacre. My response was, “Who?”
He looked at me as if I was crazy, as I had never heard of them.
But as fate would have it, as he has done in the past, TOM GEORGE of HIGH ROAD PUBLICITY reached out to me asking
me to cover the supporting act, ARMY OF THE UNIVERSE. Of course, I do my best to accommodate when a publicist reaches
out to me—these relationships are important to any working photojournalist. So I made short work of adding The Birthday
Massacre to my shooting schedule and this review and was gratefully green-lighted the day of the show…and I am super
glad I was granted access! This show was off the chain!
As always, I arrive hours early and often, I get to hang out during the load-in backstage where photographs and autographs
are the norm plus meeting the artist--one of the perks of being a part of the working media in El Paso.
The members of Army of the Universe were just unbelievable and at one point, I thought they were interviewing me, as they
turned the probing questions on me…one question after another about who I was, El Paso, the weather and of course,
Juarez, Mexico, for which the bridge is 4 blocks down the street.
These guys are from Milan, Italy. Their music is labeled “Italian Industrial Dance”. They’ve racked up to their credit 4
albums in 8 years and if I had to describe their sound…let’s say it would be the lovechild of NINE INCH NAILS meets
MINISTRY. Once on stage, was super tight, and LORD, the front man, reminded me of a young BILLY IDOL. I really enjoyed
their set and made a point of paying the compliment to Lord personally. But this audience was here for The Birthday
Massacre…no doubt about that!
Hailing from London, Ontario, The Birthday Massacre has been together since 1999, producing 6 albums since then, with
their 7th just released this month, titled “Under Your Spell” which inspired this supporting tour. CHIBI is the front person-
-she was well known by the audience. I did get a small opportunity after the show to say “hi” as she was heading back to
the comforts of the bus. Right after the show, MICHAEL, the guitarist, lit a cigarette backstage and looked at me and said,
“How cool is it to be able to do this for a living?”
As I mentioned is sometimes the case, I hadn’t heard of either of these national acts before I had the opportunity to shoot
them. I can now say with assurance—that I won’t forget the name of either of these bands. And I can also add, based on
my first-hand experience, that if the “Under Your Spell” Tour appears on your radar, you really need to catch it! You will
walk away a fan, and find yourself mesmerized by both of these talented groups!
www.thebirthdaymassacre.com
www.facebook.com/TheBirthdayMassacre
www.armyoftheuniverse.com
www.facebook.com/ArmyOfTheUniverse