Lords of Acid Got Nasty in San Antonio

June 20, 2025 – Over the years I’ve heard whispers about a band that helped push the anti-censorship agenda of the 1990s. A band so shocking that it was lumped into ranks of industrial bands like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, KMFDM — and even the eventual rise of nu-metal acts — despite the fact that the band itself belonged to the techno genre. That band is Lords of Acid. Infamous for their sexually explicit album covers, raunchy performances, and lyrics about kink and drugs, as far back as I can remember my dad has always told me about their wildly popular and shocking album, Lust. From that album till now, the band has always maintained an insane mix of dance anthems and sexually-political electro ballads, and then it was my to witness it this past Friday at San Antonio’s Vibes Event Center.

As I entered the door to the venue, DJ Alleykat was already spinning some dark wave beats for the growing crowd. Her set was a perfect introduction to the evening for two reasons: first, it eased me into the kind of music I’d be hearing. Second, because I wasn’t expecting to see a pregnant, half naked nun donning pasties and latex the very second I walked in the door. In hindsight? She pretty much warned me what was to come, and I guess I wasn’t really paying attention. The music was awesome, though, and half way through her set she invited audience member and local performance artist, Savannah Andie, on stage to dance with her.

Next on the set list was Lucia Cifarelli (of KMFDM fame) performing a set of her solo music. Songs were pretty great, but my only qualm with the performance is that she sang to backing tracks instead of having a live band. I know, I know, bands cost money and she sounded good regardless, but as a bonafide metalhead and classical music enjoyer with a reverence for live performance, can you blame me? She opened with the only song of hers I know, “Girls Like Me,” but everything else she played was pretty catchy. She had people dancing and vibing along to the set, and for a concert that often bordered on being more of a rave than the kind of concert I’m used to, that’s pretty good engagement.

Then it was time for one of the more memorable moments of the night. Myself, the other two photographers, and even the security guards were all confused. We were all at a concert, that we were sure of, and yet there were no instruments or music equipment anywhere. Weird. At the time, when I had last checked Spotify, the next group up — Little Miss Nasty — had a bunch of listens and they sounded a lot like an all-female techno pop group. At least, that’s what I had assumed. Oh, man, was I wrong. By the time any of us at the barricade knew what was happening, there were five women in black thongs, ripped tights, X-shaped pasties, and leather accents crawling all over the metal bars before us. Yep, you guessed it. Apparently, Little Miss Nasty is a famous industrial metal burlesque troupe, and though they have some music out on streaming, most of their set is them dancing to remixed versions of songs by such groups as Rage Against the Machine, Rob Zombie, A Perfect Circle, and Nine Inch Nails. My first thought was: “how is this allowed at an all ages show?” My second thought was “I need to start researching opening acts/bands more thoroughly.” And my third thought was “my girlfriend is going to skin me alive.” All were true and fair, and the shock of it all aside, they are some very talented ladies. I don’t think most people know how impressive it is to be able to hang upside down from a monkey bar without using your hands, much less do it while pretending to eat out your fellow performer. Ladies, if you’re reading this, drop the ab routine. Lord knows I need it.

Speaking of which, after the girls in spandex cleared the stage, Lords of Acid finished out the night with a setlist that left everyone more than pleased. The raver kids were happy, the old dudes in Rammstein shirts were happy, even the endless brigade of nuns were in the pit with glow sticks and bright vibes. Carla Harvey’s debut tour as the Acid Queen was incredible. She sang, moved, and completely captivated the crowd with an electric presence that shook the dust out of the thirty-year old band and gave it a new pulse of rejuvenation. With a setlist featuring such classics as “Voodoo-U”, “I Sit On Acid”, “Pussy”, and “Out Comes the Evil”, Carla cranked up the performance and really did such an incredible job at getting the crowd to loosen up and just have fun. It was really something.

Lords of Acid are just about wrapped up with their tour, but you Las Vegas fans still have time to catch them when they hit ZRockR’s hometown block at Area 15 on June 29th.

PHOTO CREDIT: Live photos by Liam Tennant for ZRockR Magazine – (c) 2025 – All Rights Reserved.