Girls @ 7th St. Entry
Maybe it is my fault. It seems like I keep building up the San Fransisco based band Girls every chance I get, with each time ending with me being let down. Ever since I heard the first two amazing singles from the band way back last winter, the eclectic duo have been a band I have been consistently looking towards for great things. Their debut album, while good, was not the knockout that I was hoping it would be. Saturday night brought the band to Minneapolis for a sold out show at the 7th Street Entry that again had my hopes sky high. Much like the CD, the show ended up being just fine, but I couldn’t help but feeling a little bit underwhelmed from this much hyped about group.
The duo, consisting of singer/songwriter Christopher Owens and JR White on record, were joined by a guitarist (from opening band Dominant Legs) and a drummer to fill out their sound. The group did a good job of breathing life into the tracks from Album, but like the disc, there were some high moments that were bookended by stretches that were unremarkable. Like on Album, the highlights were “Hellhole Ratrace,” “Lust for Life,” and “Lauren Marie.” Some of the other songs, like “Laura” and “Ghost Train,” ran into the same problems that they had on record, namely that they seem liked half baked versions of the group’s best material. While they are in no way bad songs, they seem like easy answers and sound pale and hollow next to the material that finds Owens at his very best. Owens was more mysterious than engaging as a front man, asking for the lights to be dropped down shortly after the set started and singing most of the songs with his long hair draped over his face in a shroud of darkness. His songs of heartbreak and despair seemed even more engrossing in the darkened room, but there simply wasn’t enough from the band to make it a really great show.
The 50 minute set didn’t offer any surprises or unexpected twists, but was a strong set from a band I can’t say anything negative about. Unfortunately my extreme excitement from all those months ago is also gone, leaving me to realize that maybe I just have to realize that the band will never be the life changing group I thought they might be after their first two songs. Sometime you just have to take what you can get. If that means having songs like “Lust for Life†and “Hellhole Ratrace” both live and on record, it is a deal I think I can get used to making.
Also: Girls “Album” Review
I think Girls still haven’t quite gotten their sea-legs onstage yet but hopefully soon the live show will catch up to their recorded work
i thought the show was pretty damn ho-hum myself too… even Lust For Life was tepid live
what do you want me to do… cut myself or something?
we try to play our best, sorry you weren’t impressed.
i don’t know if i want to tour anymore, you work really hard and people just tare you down, i don’t get it. i sang my fucking heart out up there.
hey, it worked for Iggy Pop
yes, as Deline pointed out, cutting is always a valid option…
but seriously… if you’re honestly in Girls, i dunno what to say I guess. if that’s your best, then that’s your best, i can’t argue with that.
it just seemed to me, like most of the band didn’t even want to be on stage at that time and looked bored themselves. and i’m not saying this as some jaded indie hipster either, just being honest. i really did want to love the show, but was let down a bit (even going in with no expectations).
obviously you guys have plenty of fans at this point, so don’t take what any one person on here too personally.
Not convinced that it really is someone from the band, but for the record I do really like the band. You can ask most people I know that I have been talking up the band since last winter when I first heard Lust for Life and Hellhole Ratrace.
That being said, fair or unfair, my sky high expectations were not met with the LP and the live show didn’t blow my socks off. I wish it did, but I make it a point to be honest. Not a big fan of reviewers who say every show was “amazing” when it didn’t blow me away.
That being said, if the review above is the worst thing written about a band, they are pretty lucky. I re-read it and I would still say that it is a pretty positive review.
Again, not really thinking I am talking to a real person here, but just in case it is, keep up the good work.
Actually he said in an interview that was really him that posted that