When the lead singer of Girls, Christopher Owens, dismisses you as “dogs bark but the caravan moves along” you might wonder what the fuck is he wasting his time on your blog?
Or you might wonder if you were too rough on him.
maybe both.
But reading an anonymous comment on Brooklynvegan yesterday, I was happy to see I was not the only person who loved the album and hated the concert. And I, unlike anon, have seen em live before and they were much, much better. ps anon -dum dum girls were atrocious (nypress agrees) and the band you missed was Leisure.
Here is Anon’s comment:
“Is that review serious? I love Album and am a huge supporter of the Girls surge, but the show fucking sucked. I’d never seen them live and unfortunately I don’t think I will again. The breaks between songs were so uncomfortable and boring that I was actually wishing for the mindless banter that usually makes me cringe. I sincerely hope that the reason the band was so pedestrian and unimaginative was because they were bugged out on some wicked pills. Otherwise, give me a fucking break – even Lifehouse could make my heart beat faster. I’ve never seen a more tired crowd, commenting on how the Rickenbacker had a “lovely tone” and how expensive the drinks were nowadays.
“As for the contributors – the Girls bassist (only other official member) looked like he was playing “cool dad” all night. Bomber jacket, swaying his hips to the music like he was really diggin’ this new rock ‘n roll sound. The drummer – oh, the drummer. I pray to God this was forced upon the band by the label. If he would’ve twirled his drumsticks one more time I may have shit my pants. I was very close. So many songs on Album are minimal and that works for them, but each song the drummer came in and started some generic cover-band beat that did nothing but take attention away from the guitars/vocals. So many dudes in bands need to realize that they don’t always have to be playing to contribute.
“Girls didn’t play “Summertime”. That’s one of the hits. In its place, they played 5-6 slow, uneventful, fairly standard pieces that pushed me more and more towards my comfortable bed (the show ended at just 10pm). It felt at times like I was at an awkward early 60’s homecoming dance. Sigh, I’ll quit bitching now.
“I missed Dum Dum Girls. I’m really pissed I missed them – it would’ve been the highlight of the night, even if they sucked.”