Electro-Industrial Icons Lords of Acid Turn Trees Into a Sweaty Industrial Freakshow in Dallas

Some tours feel assembled. The Cheeky Freaky Tour felt unleashed.

By the time Belgium’s legendary industrial-dance provocateurs Lords of Acid hit the stage at Trees Friday night, Deep Ellum had already spiraled through glam chaos, electroclash attitude, goth theatrics, and enough smoke, sequins, leather, and sweat to coat the entire venue twice over. It was the kind of lineup that made perfect sense specifically because it probably shouldn’t have worked together at all. Yet somehow every act fed directly into the next, building toward a late-night industrial rave drenched in neon filth and dancefloor hedonism.

Opening the night was Mz Neon, the Los Angeles-by-way-of-New-York performance artist and multi-instrumentalist who immediately turned the room sideways. Armed with a whip, a cowboy hat, and zero interest in subtlety, Mz Neon blurred the lines between concert, performance art, and fever dream.

Check out the Mz Neon concert photo gallery below:

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The set was unpredictable in the best possible way, constantly shifting energy while the crowd tried to figure out what exactly they were witnessing. Whatever label fits it probably doesn’t matter. The point was commitment, spectacle, and personality, and she delivered all three.

What would happen if Freddie Mercury and Tina Turner got together in the afterlife and collaborated? They’d be reincarnated Tony & The Kiki vocalist Tony Alfaro, vocalist of the fabulous Tony & The Kiki….obviously!

The New York City outfit exploded onto the Trees stage in a blur of glitter, glam, attitude, and towering vocals. Tony Alfaro commanded the room instantly, channeling disco excess, punk swagger, and theatrical rock-star magnetism all at once. Tracks from their EP Fornication Under Consent Of Queens landed perfectly in the live setting, especially as the band leaned hard into their dance-rock pulse and larger-than-life energy.

Check out the Tony & The Kiki concert photo gallery below:

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There was something undeniably old-school about the performance too, like glam rock and nightclub decadence colliding headfirst with modern queer nightlife culture. Every movement felt oversized and intentional, but never forced. Tony didn’t just perform songs. They detonated them.

Then came Princess Superstar, who stormed into the room with pure electroclash confidence and instantly transformed Trees into a chaotic late-night dance party. Mixing material like “Bad Babysitter” and “Perfect Exceeder” with crowd banter and nonstop movement, she kept the room bouncing while refusing to take herself too seriously.

Check out the Princess Superstar concert photo gallery below:

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At one point she shouted, “I’m a Dallas cheerleader motherfucker!” before firing off a surprisingly impressive high kick that got one of the loudest reactions of the night. Her set thrived on personality, humor, and club energy, feeling equally part rave, part comedy routine, and part throwback party.

Taking the stage to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” Dead On A Sunday shifted the atmosphere immediately. The Denver project, fronted by Ross Ryan, drowned Trees in thick smoke, dark lighting, and cinematic melancholy.

Where earlier acts leaned into flamboyance and chaos, Dead On A Sunday brought mood and immersion. Songs from In Memoriam and earlier releases carried a haunting weight live, balancing goth textures, alternative rock, and emotional intensity without losing their edge.

A gorgeous rendition of Q Lazzarus’ “Goodbye Horses” cast a hypnotic spell over the room, while their dark, synth-drenched take on “…Baby One More Time” transformed the pop hit into something eerie, haunting, and strangely emotional. Ryan’s stage presence never relied on overblown theatrics or nonstop movement.

Check out the Dead On A Sunday concert photo gallery below:

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Instead, Dead On A Sunday pulled the crowd in through atmosphere alone, building tension through shadowy visuals, heavy mood, and music that felt equally intimate and cinematic.

Finally, the lights dropped for Lords of Acid.

Launching into “Scrood Bi U” from 2001’s Farstucker, the band immediately transformed Trees into a sweat-soaked industrial dance floor. Frontwoman Carla Harvey completely owned the stage, whipping her hair in massive arcs while charging from side to side with relentless energy.

Harvey looked genuinely thrilled to be there, grinning constantly while feeding off both the crowd and the absolute insanity unfolding around her.

The set balanced sleazy dance grooves, industrial crunch, and tongue-in-cheek vulgarity exactly the way Lords of Acid fans wanted. “Voodoo-U,” “Rough Sex,” and “Pussy” turned the venue into a full-scale late-night freakshow, with the crowd screaming every word back toward the stage.

During “Pussy,” Harvey invited women from the audience onstage to dance with the band, creating one of the night’s most chaotic moments when one intoxicated participant lost her balance, fell into Harvey, and grabbed onto her dress on the way down, nearly ripping the whole thing off in front of the packed Trees crowd. Somehow, it only made the moment feel even more perfectly on-brand for a Lords of Acid show. If anyone reading this was onstage, checkout the clip below…I got you covered, and captured the performance. YouTube has age restricted it :/ so you must be of age 🙂

One of the night’s highlights came when Tony Alfaro returned to the stage for “El Mundo Esta Loco,” the upcoming Lords of Acid collaboration with Tony & The Kiki set for release June 12 via Metropolis Records. The pairing worked perfectly live, blending Tony’s theatrical glam energy with Lords of Acid’s pounding industrial grooves into something filthy, stylish, and wildly fun.

Check out the Lords of Acid concert photo gallery below:

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More than three decades after corrupting dance floors and offending polite society, Lords of Acid still sound dangerous, filthy, and completely unapologetic. Friday night at Trees wasn’t just a concert. It was sweat, smoke, pounding bass, half-dressed chaos, industrial grooves, and a crowd fully surrendering to the madness right alongside them. Exactly as it should be.

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