Thirty minutes is a short amount of time to get into any music, but it’s about how long the Dum Dum Girls played at Amoeba on Tuesday night. Nevertheless, it was enough to give to the crowd a good idea of their fuzzy rock’ n’ roll filled with 3-voice harmonies of 60s girl groups.
The first noticeable thing was the aesthetic that these four girls put on stage, mini black shorts or dresses, lace or stripped black tights, leather straps and cherry-red lipstick over a pale make-up, their goth-chic-femme-fatale look was made for seduction. But to seduce the Los Angeles quartet obviously was relaying much more on appearance and music than on their stage moves, as the girls' attitude was a little detached, as if they were playing warm vibes with a cool delivery.
With a name said to be inspired both from The Vaselines' album ‘Dum Dum’ and the Iggy Pop’s song ‘Dum Dum Boys’, a stage name may be chosen after one of the Ramones, which she cites as an inspiration, Dee Dee was actually doing most of the action, alternating a song from their recent release ‘Only in Dreams’ with a song from their first album ‘I will Be’. ‘Bedroom Eyes‘ was a nice moment, whereas some others, like Bhang, Bhang, I’m burnout’, sounded already like classics.
Their songs had nothing of the lo-fi attribute generally given to them, the four girls were loud and sometimes even aggressive, without changing their blank facial expressions nevertheless. It was especially the red-haired bassist, Bambi, who looked the most lethargic, slowly nodding her head and hardly moving; but all this must be their thing.
Beside a few thank you, there was not much interaction with the crowd, just a few words from Dee Dee talking about the new record that they ‘had been waiting for quite a while for it to come out', but the tone became a little meaner at the end, especially with the last song ‘He gets me high’, giving up more energy and even a psychedelic vibe into their 60s sound.
The execution of their songs was as tight as their skirts or shorts, and their beautiful harmonies were contrasting with their tough-chick look,… the Bangles or the Go Go’s may come to mind because of original-looking-girl-group thing, but the Dum Dum Girls have truly a sound of their own.
Setlist:
Always looking
Bhang, Bhang, I’m burnout
Bedroom Eyes
Teardrops on my pilllow
Wasted away
It only takes one night
Hold your hand
He gets me high