EARLY WORD: Get Your Ziggy On

 

“The first time I heard Ziggy Stardust, I was in a record shop, and it came on, and I had to be somewhere, but I couldn’t leave without hearing the next song, and the next. Now whenever I hear that record, I get that same feeling. It’s great start-to-finish. And it dawned on me one day that it would be fun to put together a band to play it, the whole thing, with one singer after another.” That’s Kev Monko, musical director of the conglomeration of some two dozen local musicians dubbed Candy Volcano, whose sole purpose is to play David Bowie’s 1973 glam rock classic The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars in its effervescent entirety, in order and in appropriately glammy costumes and make-up which they will be doing at the Underground Arts on Saturday night. Candy Volcano has a core band of about ten and a rotating cast of a dozen or so singers. A different singer comes on stage for each song, each in a wildly flashy outfit. Capes, tights, platform shoes, dandy-ish hats, and make-up abound. In those costumes, Candy Volcano gets its Ziggy on like it’s 1973 at Max’s Kansas City, “a sensational eruption of glitter-flavored goodness,” as Monko puts it. “The songs on Ziggy are fun to sing and play,” says Monko. “Bowie was artsy, but a lot of glam rock is fairly straightforward rock n roll, not overly complex. And Ziggy has a good mix of ballady, soulful, rootsy, bombastic, and hard rockin’ material. ‘Hang onto Yourself’ is like punk rock. There’s something for lots of voices, styles, and tastes. It’s an audible spectacle, a flashy rocking sexy circus.” Philly’s fabulous Star Trek tribute band, The Roddenberries, play sets at 9 and 10. They promise an evening of nerd-licious sci-fi tomfoolery and inter-stellar good times. Candy Volcano takes the stage at about 11:15 and will follow up Ziggy with additional glam era classics for as long as anyone sticks around. Both bands encourage audience members to show up in costume. As Monko asks, “Why be flannelous when you can be glamorous?” — MIKE WALSH

Candy Volcano + special guests The Roddenberries, ‘Philly’s Foremost Star Trek Tribute Band,’ perform Saturday @ Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill, $10