Live Review: Vivian Girls at Independent

I walked into The Independent for the last few Hunkx and his Punkx songs and Hunkx declaring, “Don’t even talk to me if you don’t have a boner.” The guys were gay swagger to the max in tight spandex and fishnets. They were (of course) the most popular band on the tour, with both Abe Vigoda and the Vivian Girls proclaiming their love.

Taking to the stage, The Vivian girls thanked Hunkx for cutting their hair just before the set. Their hair looked really cool… Everything about the Vivian Girls is cool. Cassie Ramone rips on the guitar, sings like she’s bored, and drinks Jameson on stage. Kickball Katie is as cute as can be on the bass and provides good harmonies, so does Ali Koeler, who is more than adequate on the drums. At the end of the show, Cassie moved to the bass, Katie moved to the drums, and Ali played lead guitar.

The girls were impressive live, and their self-titled debut album is great. The songs deal with heartbreak and love and although they pull from many genre’s (60s girl groups, 80s punk), they sound fresh and familiar. “Tell the World” started the set with immediacy and force, all the girls contributing on vocals. Other standouts were “All the Time” and “Wild Eyes.” “Where Do You Run To” was noticeably absent, and although the girls are totally the type of band that won’t play they’re popular single because people want to hear it, it would have been nice.

- Review submitted by Jeff Bracco.