It’s tough being a hip, twentysomething New York gal in a band. First the blog-scrounging masses can’t get enough of your lo-fi debut album; next, they’re chewing you apart for the same reason they fell in love with you in the first place. The once “cool” fact that you can’t really play your guitar is now regarded as a fault, just because that’s “what eeeeeverybody’s doing.” Hell, seems like you can’t even talk-shit on “normal people” in an Internet-only interview these days! Your hipster bretheren will abandon you for saying exactly what they and their chums spew at each other on any given Friday night over a cold Pabst and pack of American Spirits.
So you’ve got to feel for Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls. A Dickens quote has never so accurately pinpointed a band. The trio stormed the music world at “the best of times and the worst of times.” They were able to ride on the hype-wave, but were also the first ones down when that wave crashed.
It was 2008, and scuzzy, lo-fi bands were spreading like wildfire across LA and New York. Whether it was a rejection of the polish that characterizes mainstream pop or a desire to return to the simplistic glory days of late-60s garage rock, music media started paying attention. So when the Vivian Girls dropped their debut album last year, bloggers jumped out of their swivel chairs to herald them as pioneers of a new music culture. Unfortunately for the band, this occurred just as a million other groups were given the same title. A clear exaggeration, yes, but for a scene that prided itself on its out-there individuality, it didn’t feel too hyperbolic. The self-loathing hipsters soon targeted them as a dime-a-dozen sort of band, and after the initial praise of their self titled first release, things only went downhill. A botched interview where they displayed their hipster colors and jokingly questioned the lives unhip folks only led to a hypocritical reprisal from the very people they associate with.
But despite any and all backlash the Vivian Girls have incurred over the past whirlwind year, their live show (like, say, the one they played at Rickshaw Stop Wednesday night), proves that there was a reason everyone cared in the first place. The girls can still totally rock.
They showcased what they do best; muddy-three chord punk juxtaposed with cute three-part harmonies. The band has a way of walking the fine-line between control and absolute chaos, and it’s witnessing them keeping their balance that makes watching the group so electricifying. Ripping through a set of mostly new songs, cuts from their first album, like the single “Tell The World”, doused fans in gasoline and proceeded to ignite what seemed to be a relatively tame audience.
In more ways than one, the Vivian Girls’ set was a bit of a celebration. With their second album, What Goes Wrong, having been released the day before, Wednesday night marked their official Record Release show, and also bassist Katy’s 25th birthday. There was champagne, hand-distributed cake (literally; no plates or forks, just frosting handshakes between the band and audience), and a declaration by Katy that she’d take a shot every time they stopped playing. Despite the full house, the show felt entirely intimate. You couldn’t help but feel like you’d actually gotten an invitation to this birthday party. The smile on Katy’s face might have been whiskey-induced, but she seemed genuinely happy you’d decided to come.
Obviously originality in art is what keeps things exciting, but if the “problem” the scenester community is concerned with has to do with too many bands sounding as good as the Vivian Girls, they might need to reexamine their issues.
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