Dresden Dolls Show Their True Colors With Like-Minded Tourmates

It apparently doesn't take much to get a two-person Brechtian punk cabaret act back on the road. Just offer them a slot playing in the inaugural True Colors tour.

"Oh, it was a no-brainer," says Dresden Dolls singer Amanda Palmer. "We respected everybody going out on the tour so much, and we were so flattered to be asked.

"Plus, Cyndi Lauper is an old-school idol of mine, so I didn't even think twice about it. Not for a second. We'd been taking time off since January, but we felt that it'd be an unmissable opportunity."

True Colors is in its virgin year — no pun intended — as a touring entity meant to raise awareness for the Human Rights Campaign. The multi-artist tour was created by Lauper, is hosted by comedian Margaret Cho and includes such performers as The Gossip and Debbie Harry. It aims to shed light on the adversities faced by the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. And as a liberally outspoken band (check out the heartfelt anthem "Sing" from their last album, Yes, Virginia...), the Dresden Dolls feel that they fit in perfectly.

"This was the first tour where we feel like we're almost family," Palmer says. "We're with people who really get what we're about, and that's with the bands as well as the audience.

"It just feels like we don't have anything to prove to anyone and it's really liberating. We're just being embraced for who we are, which is really poetic considering that's what this tour is about in the first place."

Even greater issues within society are being exposed by this event, and the fact that this sort of festival needs to exist at all is a pretty sad reflection on a population that's still too unforgiving of diversity. Palmer agrees, but takes a more artistic point of view:

"I think people in general are feeling very overwhelmed. They're scared about the state of the planet and the future, and there's a couple ways you can respond to that. You can respond by being very specifically politically upset in your songs, which many people out there are. You can respond by introverting and just talking about your own pain and emotions, or you can write a cheerful three-minute pop song about breaking up with your boyfriend." Palmer breaks off to laugh at the thought.

"You know, all of those songs have their place. That's the thing — music has so many uses. All of those things are valid, and we need music to dance to. We need music to cry to. We need music to go crazy to. That's what's beautiful about it."

So is music the best cathartic outlet for a political or social message?

"I think there's a very dangerous and fine line between bringing people together for a cause, and becoming preachy," Palmer replies. "And I think one of the strongest effects that a musical event can have is simply bringing people together under one roof and confirming that there's still hope — that action can be taken.

"Back into the furthest reaches of history, there's something really important about everybody gathering together, even if you feel like you're preaching to the choir and saying, 'We're not alone.' There is a general sentiment on the whole here that's 'look around, these are your people.' I don't think that is ever going to go away.

"And in these times, with people attending less and less live music, it really makes you think about what the significance is of buying a ticket and going to see a live show with other people. There's one essential fact which remains true: that gathering with a group of people and listening to music is not the same as sitting in your bedroom alone. It serves as a source of inspiration for everybody there, to take a little bit of that feeling back out and distribute into the world."

The Dresden Dolls play as a part of the True Colors Tour 2007 at Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre on Tuesday.