The musician, and sometimes-political activist, Amanda Palmer is in New Zealand for three gigs over the next week. Palmer is one of most interesting artists around at the moment. Combining ‘theatrical rock, punk cabaret, manic-musical, neo-glam-torch’ together, she normally works as the lead singer and pianist in the duo of the Dresden Dolls, but at the moment she's doing other solo and collaborative work. Amanda Palmer’s songs are described in the press release for her latest New Zealand tour as ‘astute, witty world observations’, which is almost an understatement. Elsewhere Palmer’s songs have been described as dealing with ‘the often brutal emotional and sexual lives of a diverse cast of misfits, crazies, compulsives, and sociopaths’. One song, ‘Night Reconnaissance’, from her last album expresses her sympathy with teen socialist rebels plotting revenge against tormentors ‘from good homes’. [Read more below]