Do you ever wish you could sit in a Parisian café at night, watching the river Thymes drift by with light glittering off of the water as the cigarette smoke drifts past your eyes while you listen to the young bohemians laughing and talking about the things they have seen and done? While somewhere in the background, the white-faced men and women of the Cabaret are singing and dancing across the stage, spinning lively tales of love and sex? This is the space that the Dresden Dolls will put you in. With songs ranging from sweet to psychotic to unbelievably angry, the Dresden Dolls have a passion for the music they create — and they do it very well.

Taking a dash of punk and a dash of cabaret, the Dresden Dolls bring something new to the musical table with piano and drum focused songs. The duo, Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione, perform their shows dressed up like members of a 1930’s Berlin cabaret and sing songs about love, self harm, and loneliness. The Dresden Dolls are wonderful musicians to help you handle life’s darker moments as well as bring attention to the more positive aspects of life.

One of my personal favorites is the song “Bad Habit,” a song about cutting, trying to stop, and about the people who tell you to stop. It’s about promise and hope, and why people do it and why it’s hard to stop. With climatic piano work and powerful drums, the song has a forceful feel to it. The song may be about a sad topic, but it puts hope out there for people who have this problem.

You will also find yourself laughing at the Dresden Dolls’ sometimes comical lyrics, then thinking to yourself ‘I should not be laughing at this at all because psychosis is not a funny laughing matter.’ Unless it’s being sung about in a neo classical punk rock style by people who looked like they stepped out of a 1930’s cabaret. So put on some white face make-up, staple your hand to your forehead, smoke a clove and proceed to groove with Dresden Dolls.