There’s nothing like an all girl punk outfit to get the blogs buzzing.  With a second record recently released, Vivian Girls has been getting a good amount of recognition as a part of the Brooklyn music scene resurgence.  Naturally, the L.A. kids came out to the Echo to see what all the fuss is about.  The band’s garage punk sound blends with that of ’60s girl groups with sweet three-part harmonies. They sing songs of lost love and not understanding the male species with lyrics like “Where do you run to/Why do you leave me all alone”—this explains the heavy girl population at the show.  Plus, they are three adorable girls with I-don’t-give-a-fuck-what-you-think attitude.  Chicks want to be them, dudes want to be their boyfriends—or maybe, want to be them too (unadmittedly).

Oddly enough, the opening act—The Beets—kind of is the male Vivian Girls.   A four-piece band of boys that sings songs about failed relationships with females: “Who will ride your bike/Who will fly your kite/When your lungs are not as strong/Whose gonna sing your song?” (“For You”).  Of course, they sound like a ’60s boy group rather than girl group, and have traded harmonies in favor of singing together on the same note.  This gives the effect of a chanting choir of boys.  Like Vivian Girls, The Beets gained momentum playing house shows around New York City and befriending “the right people.”  For this tour, Vivian Girls happened to be “the right people.”  After a performance involving little movement besides on-going knee bending and torso swaying, I was left yawning and in desperate need of another beer.

Vivian Girls left much to be desired as well.  Lead singer Cassie Ramone’s cute outfit and dreamy eyes could only hold me over for so long.  I understand why they built their following playing Brooklyn house shows.  The pretentious see-and-be-scene L.A. crowd was too cool to get into the music and did little more than sway throughout their set.  Luckily, for those in the know, both The Beets and Vivian Girls played a house show in Highland Park the next day.  The back yard housed about one hundred kids who weren’t too cool to get down (the $1 Colt 45’s helped).  The impromptu house show allowed me to see Vivian Girls in their element and save this from being a (reluctantly) bad review.  Sometimes the venue and crowd really can put a damper on what otherwise could have been a fun show—as was the case with Vivian Girls.  This band is best viewed with close friends in a tight space with malt liquor in hand.

—Ilyse Kaplan