It was a triple dose of low-to-no-fi garage rock as all the bands on the bill had three members.
The constantly in motion and always rocking Vivian Girls have worked their way to headline status in two years of existence. It's welcoming to see bands getting better at being live performers after constant touring.
The setlist:
- All the Time
- Surfin' Away
- Walking Alone At Night
- The End
- Such A Joke
- Never See Me Again
- When
- Out for
- Second Date
- Wild Eyes
- Can't Get Over You
- Tell the World
- Damaged
The three gals have cranked up the intensity with the live shows. Some of the new songs they are dropping into the set have long stretches of jamming which allows them to loosen up and rock out. For those who already know, a typical Vivian Girls song is a blink and you miss track, that clocks in around two minutes. Now that they are headline worthy, with an ending song going into all sorts of crazy, screeching directions. Just when the feedback fills the rooms, the girls switch instruments to continue the chaos.
As a fan of retro rock, you get to name drop a bunch of classic and obscure 50s/60s/70s motorcycle rock bands when comparing them to other bands. I've always said the Shangri-Las and The Vipers. Then you can out namedrop other music snobs. Bikini Kill .. urrr .. Fuzzbox.....
Times New Vikings rule again. The Ohio-based garbage rockers don't look like much and their gear look like they been salvaged for a fire, but they are never boring. Like Vivian Girls, their songs are mangled, distorted rock tracks where vocals are drowned out by the lack of fidelity. It's all part of the plan. The edge that the Vikings have are the quirky, basic low budget keyboard tones. I loved them at Siren Festival last year and glad I got to catch them cranking out the static.
Stupid Party fit right into the fold tonight. They are very straight forward garage/post-punk trio. They won't set the world ablaze, but you know, they all can't be masters of the modern lo-fi garage genre like Vivians and Vikings.
Saw the thermals instead wish i went
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Posted by: sf | May 12, 2009 at 02:03 AM
Hell yes. I've seen the Viv's thrice now(twice in Portland)and this was their most stellar set. Maybe it's the homecourt advantage or maybe all that touring is paying off.
Times New Viking shredded as well. I agree.
Nice to see the shot you took of the Vikings drum kit was included here! Didn't Ali use that same kick drum for the Viv's set too?
Posted by: Stanley Foster | June 09, 2009 at 07:47 PM