Artists: Girls, Dum Dum Girls, Leisure
Location: Paradise Rock Club, Boston
Date: Thursday, April 1, 2010
Grade: B+/A-

Act I: Leisure – They were ok, nothing special. Clearly, they had musical chops and they were decent performers, but the music just never came through for me. I didn’t hear great songs. In other words, the parts were better than the whole; for me, with a great band, live or on record, but especially live it’s vice versa.

Glen: Unlike Chris, I actually dug this band. As I said to him, I couldn’t really find a problem with their music. In other words, I might not have loved their brand of glam/dance rock, but I thought it was pretty catchy and the lead singer was a funny character. They reminded me of the Lovely Feathers with the keyboard and song structures.

Set List:
follow me
heartbeats
sway
other people
no other place
suez
outside

Act II: The Dum Dum Girls – Things start to heat up. I saw these girls last October, opening for King Khan & BBQ and honestly they didn’t floor me. Don’t get me wrong, I thought they were decent, but nothing notable. This time around, I appreciated their performance more. I don’t know if anything changed with them, so it was probably just me. Anyway, I really dug their vocals the most. Still, this time, they didn’t send me flying off my rocker, but I thought they did a good job and I enjoyed it. Not to mention, as before, their dress and body movements on stage both caught my eye. I love the head bobbing and almost elegance in their appearance. I mean they look rather attractive in their all black get up and it’s certainly a sight for sore eyes!

Glen: Of course, it’s hard to go without mentioning the DDG appearance unless one wears a blind fold during their performance. They played a tight set that showcased some new songs like “Bhang, Bhang,” my favorite “Jail La La,” “Rest of Our Lives,” and “Yours Alone.” Also played were older ones like “Catholicked,” and some other song that I can’t think of the name, but they’ve been playing for a while. Like I said in my review of their 2010 album I Will Be, the drum beats are absolutely fantastic, but like Chris said their voices are beautiful.

Act III: Girls: Ahh my favorite Girls are Guys! Of course, the band I came to see and they did not disappoint. The group opened with the classic, “Laura” and immediately all in attendance it seemed, began singing along. The music was nice and soft, almost warm? lol The lights were a flashin’ but slowly and matched the music perfectly. Singer/Guitarist, Christopher Owens modestly rocked out with his funky, moonwalking dance moves. He really looked fly, definitely flyer than Whacko Jacko. They continued the set with other Album classics, such as “Darling,” “Ghost Mouth,” and their signature number, “Lust For Life,” which unsurprisingly garnered the greatest reaction from the audience. They created one hell of a song transition, actually three song transition, from the soft, yet infinitely endearing, “Hellhole Ratrace,” into the noisy (a first for the evening), garage like, “Morning Light,” then finally into the Grease resembling, “Big Bad Mean Motherfucker,” which also generated large enthusiasm from the crowd, including a trio of femmes gyrating on stage. Girls also played about six or seven non-Album lol tracks, including the new song, “Substance.” This is sort of a criticism of mine, but not really. Let me explain… Well, I anticipated knowing all but one or two songs they would perform, three tops! This was considering, I knew and loved all of their record. Incidentally, I didn’t know any of the tunes that didn’t appear on their record. Ohh well, I suppose this is not their flaw, but a bad on my part as a fan. Anyway, they came back for a sound encore featuring the classic, “Lauren Marie,” a track I was waiting for all night! Overall, they were a fabulous live band and I recommend everyone to see them, if you get the chance.

Glen: Like Chris said that three song transition — Hellhole to Morning Light to Big Bad — was awesome. It will go down in the history books as one of the most memorable parts of a concert for me. My only response to them playing five or six non-Album tunes is that they toured behind Album last fall. They are probably getting ready for whatever is next and want to get a feel for the new material.

Chris