"Do you guys want to get fucked tonight?" asks Anya Marina, one blond chick with a new do, holding a guitar on Great Scott’s poorly lit stage. It's the last night on tour, and this California girl flies by the seat of her pants, demanding Adarol, debating the existence of ADHD, and battling a broken drum machine whilst sipping green tea. Marina's composure juxtaposes the content of her playful banter on masturbation, fucking, and girls making out, generating an atmosphere of lighthearted intrigue. Her voice is breathy, a bit whiny; it's also catchy, playful and teasing. The effect is perfectly fun, get-your-hands-up, dance-in-circles music that helps shrug off those weighty worries of life. Strange, then, how "black and blue" are many of Marina's sentiments. The set includes "All The Same To Me," "Clean and Sober," and "Two Left Feet."
Superficially, Lissy Trullie is all attitude. From her provocative album cover to her stage attire (black leather jacket, short black skirt, black tights, black heels), Trullie screams attitude. This spunk is skin deep though. As second opener for the Virgins, she is incredibly gracious to both the crowd and her tourmates. Sporting a Virgins t-shirt beneath her leather jacket, she lightheartedly introduces the band members to the audience. Her band stays out of the spotlight, providing a musical backdrop that along with Trullie's throaty voice and straight ahead guitar strumming, sounds like punk meets 50s girl group, wrapped in a tidy, catchy package. Highlights include "Forget About It" and a cover of Hot Chip's "Ready for the Floor," which is notably stronger live than on her EP.
It's hard to believe, but the Virgins' music is even more infectious live than on disc. It maintains that hip/slightly guilty/way too easy to enjoy quality that earned it five spots on a single “Gossip Girl” episode in 2007. But the bouncy, overtly funky music is only half of the equation. Lead singer Donald Cummings is the other half. Cummings sways around the stage, occasionally dipping into the audience, drawing the entire crowd into the performance. Granted, the front few rows of delirious teenage girl fans did not need much encouragement, but Cummings’ exhilaration is contagious, and it’s not long before all of Great Scott is bouncing. Though their short set is energy packed, the peak is clearly during the exceedingly catchy, funk-inspired "Rich Girls." Like Anya Marina and Lissy Trullie before them, the Virgins are exceedingly grateful for the enthusiastic crowd, noting that they love Boston and that it’s the perfect spot to finish their three-week tour.
With the quality of the performances from these three artists, it’s the perfect way to enjoy a Saturday night in Boston.
Setlist:
Teen Lovers
Radio Christiane
She's Expensive
Hey Hey Girl
Love Is Colder Than Death
Murder
Rich Girls
Private Affair
One Week of Danger
Encore:
Fernando Pando
Up the Junction (Squeeze cover)
