Never Mind the Backlash — Here's the Vivian Girls

WTJU is proud to bring you a show which will surely be talked about, cogitated over, and fondly remembered for years to come: Vivian Girls (Brooklyn), The Super Vacations (east coast), and the Invisible Hand (Charlottesville) at the Outback Lodge — Wednesday, October 28, at 9 pm.



This will mark the third visit by the Vivian Girls to our fair hamlet in less than 2 years. The first time they played here was one of their first shows ever outside of New York City; apparently they played to a mostly-empty Tea Bazaar with Ultra Dolphins, back in late January of 2008. Then last summer the blogs picked up on them and they became HUUUUUGE on the Interwebs almost overnight. WTJU DJs were also quite fond of the songs they could find online and on singles as well.

And then, just as quickly, came the outcry: "They're so derivative. They can't play their instruments. Females suck. Blah, blah, blah..." The peanut gallery calls were entertaining to a point, but then it just got plain ugly and weird, especially when original drummer Frankie Rose split for Crystal Stilts, who were also blowing up on the blogs at the same time. Some drama got fabricated (okay, some of it might've been real) and pretty soon the Vivian Girls became a sideshow on par with Octomom (at least to a certain set of music aficionados). By the time In The Red Records got around to rereleasing their self-titled debut LP last fall, it was hard to remember that it was all about those grooves on the platters (be they aluminum or vinyl), and by and large those songs were pretty effin' great. So then the Vivians came through here last fall and charmed us all with a short-but-sweet set that was high on shambolic hooks and low on pretense, though the ladies continued to struggle with their meteoric rise to fame through the fall and into the early part of 2009 (when I was fortunate to catch them opening for Yo La Tengo on a frozen and bizarre New Year's Eve in Montclair, New Jersey, of all places).

The band remains a trio: Cassie Ramone on guitar, Kickball Katy on bass, and Ali Koehler on drums. They took some time off in the spring to record and are now touring behind a fantastic new album called Everything Goes Wrong, which features more heartbreak than the first album, but no lack of amazing songs. We're quite fortunate and honored to have them back in town and it's sure to be a grand old time and more than likely a full house. So get there early and prepare to enjoy the heck out of 3 fantastic bands, courtesy of Starr Hill Presents, Outback Lodge, and WTJU.