Genesis Breyer P-Orridge

Genesis P-Orridge leads the ever-experimental Psychic TV back to SF

Psychic TV //
The Independent – San Francisco
September 19th, 2015 //

Lately I’ve been into the idea of attending shows from bands I know absolutely nothing of because the experience has been, for the most part, very entertaining and just overall cool.

As was the case earlier this month in seeing Psychic TV, a British band formed back in the late 70’s by Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, who might be the most interesting person alive. But before stepping into his persona, let’s briefly talk about the music since that’s what it’s all about.

Psychic TV is mainly an experimental electronic outfit, although after nearly 30 years, they’re still very much accentuated by their taste for rock music and use of analog instrumentation, including guitar, bass and drums. Their recordings are very prolific, mostly due to the fact that in 1986, they released a total of 17 live albums (they are actually in the Guinness book of world records as the band with the most records released in one year). As their name suggests, Psychic TV also integrate visuals and projections for their live shows.

Having been away from SF for a few years, Psychic TV came back with a generous set at The Independent that went as long as two hours with dancing and projections. Their performance drew a huge crowd, with only a few tickets left keeping the show from being sold out. Because the attendance was overwhelming and so was the crowd’s involvement, the dancing as well as the singing were impressive.

More than a band, Psychic TV is also an art project conceived by P-Orridge, the group’s only remaining original member. S/he is also the founder of a unique movement known as “The Pandrogyne Project,” which attempts to alter one’s physical appearance through surgical operations to look like his or her significant other. Ever since 1993, P-Orridge has undergone many plastic modification treatments in order to look like his/her now late wife. P-Orridge’s story is quite impressive, and if you’re into some weird autobiographies, it’s one you should definitely consider.