1/26/07, 5:52 pm EST

Assignment Three Finalist: Jonathan Williams on Wednesday 13 (Atlanta)

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Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

WEDNESDAY 13 - 1/24/07

by Jonathan Williams
Age: 30

Many know the pale-skinned, dreadlocked Wednesday 13 as the singer for Joey Jordison’s Slipknot side project the Murderdolls. But Wednesday also has a strong core following that can not only sing tunes from his two solo releases (the most recent being last year’s Fang Bang), but also recall his work in the North Carolina-based Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13.

It was mostly these death-obsessed deviants (maybe 300 or so) who attended Wednesday’s show at the Masquerade in Atlanta on Jan. 24 (a Wednesday, appropriately enough). The night started with two local acts, the generic alterna-rock outfit called Blue of Noon and a younger band called Scarlet Androgyny, who looked and sounded a lot like a pre-fame Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids.

Fresh off playing Bam Margera’s Las Vegas wedding the previous night, Vains of Jenna then hit the stage exuding rock star swagger. With teased hair, bandanas, skinny frames and tattoos, the band’s look and sound was reminiscent of the sleazy ‘80s Sunset Strip glam metal scene that spawned bands like Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses and Poison.

Looking like a cross between the Ramones and the Misfits and sounding like an even lower brow version of Alice Cooper, Wednesday and his band followed with a schlocky set of horror-themed punk including recent hits like “American Werewolves In London” and “My Home Sweet Homicide,” as well as a couple of Murderdolls tracks.

Wednesday got the biggest response of the night when he announced to the goth audience he was going to play a song from when he “used to wear dresses and wigs and shit.” The band then ripped into the Frankenstein Drag Queens’ favorite “Mr. Motherfucker,” a quick shot of angsty fun that probably would have worked just as well as an encore.