Read All About It | Mother Festival

by Little Miss B, 11 April 2010...

MOTHER / WOWMEN'S MUSIC FESTIVAL / SECOND EDITION / LONDON / 20.21.22 MAY 2010

Mother Festival is the brainchild of Dafne Boggeri and Noga Inbar: an independent travelling project spanning three years and three countries, this trilogy is dedicated to promoting and supporting contemporary women's music and art. A consummately DIY affair, Mother possesses neither a residence nor an institutional form. It began its journey in Tel Aviv in 2009, and this year London is fortunate to be playing host to the second instalment. Spread across three days, the festival is being held at The New Empowering Church, Cafe OTO and FormContent, and is being curated with the support of Nicole Emmenegger (aka DJ Jenny Woolworth) whose Women In Punk blog provides an awe-inspiring resource for bands old and new. 

With a killer line-up including Wet Dog, Molly Nilsson, Iori's Eyes, Vera November and Kelli Rudick, this promises to be a very special event. With the tenth anniversary of Ladyfest also being hosted in our fair capital this year, we at The Girls Are feel it is imperative to show support for these kinds of international movements, and establish links with people outside of the UK (oh yes, there are other countries in the world. Did you know?) working tirelessly to promote the causes we care about.

Mother have very kindly given us three tracks for your downloadable pleasure, so tuck in, head down to show your support and listen to some ruddy good bands.

Molly Nilsson - We're Never Coming Home (Right click to download)
Iori's Eyes - I Said You And I Grow Old (Right click to download)

Wet Dog - Lower Leg (Right click to download)


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THURSDAY 20 MAY 2010
The Empowering Church ⎮ 1a Westgate Street (off Mare Street) London E8 3RL
Door 19:30 ⎮TICKET ⎮MAP

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WET DOG  (London)

www.myspace.com/wetdogthebest
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MOLLY NILSSON (Berlin)
www.myspace.com/formerlyknownaswhitebread
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NORMAL LOVE (Berlin)
www.myspace.com/normalloveberlin
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IORI'S EYES (Milan)
www.myspace.com/ioriseyes
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MARIA AND THE MIRRORS (London)
www.myspace.com/mariamirrors


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FRIDAY 21 MAY 2010
The Empowering Church ⎮ 1a Westgate Street (off Mare Street) London E8 3RL
Door 20:30 ⎮TICKET ⎮MAP
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MARY AND THE BABY CHEESES (Berlin)
www.myspace.com/maryandthebabycheeses
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MELISSA CASTAGNETTO + BEATRICE DILLION (London)
www.methodstodance.net
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THE KONKI DUET (Paris)
www.myspace.com/thekonkiduet
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PENS (London)
www.myspace.com/penspenspenis
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PHOEBE JEAN & KIRIKOO DES (New York/Paris)
www.myspace.com/shakeitshakeitnow

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SATURDAY 22 MAY 2010Cafe OTO⎮ 22 Ashwin St, London E8 3DL ⎮ www.cafeoto.co.uk 
Door 20:00 ⎮ TICKET  ⎮ MAP
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SONJA CVITKOVIC (Berlin) Set & Setting

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VERA NOVEMBER (London)

www.myspace.com/veranovember 

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TOURRISTS: SHERELANA OSTANO ONO VONOBITCH & MELTIFISIO CHAVEZ CHICOMA (London)

www.musicforone.com www.methodstodance.net

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KELLI RUDICK (New York)

www.myspace.com/kellirudick

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Parallel event:

HAVE A LOOK! HAVE A LOOK! collaboration with the art curatorial project space FormContent

7 May - 11 July 2010 / Friday-Sunday, 12-6pm or by appointment
51–63 Ridley Road, London E8 2NP

For more information, click here.

Review | Wet Dog + Viv Albertine

by Little Miss B, 10 May 2010. All photography by Gerard Rada Nedich for The Girls Are.

Wet Dog + Viv Albertine @ Girls Girls Girls, Old Blue Last

1 May 2010

Writing an entirely objective review of Viv Albertine's headlining set at the Old Blue Last earlier this month was never going to be easy. Being a mere arms length from a musician one has genuinely revered since teen-hood is an experience destined to render one giddy, not analytical. Throw in the consummately and consistently brilliant Wet Dog as support, and one finds oneself in a bit of a pickle. Fortuitously, I run this website and can do whatever the dickens I like, so LATERS objectivity: spaff-fest here I come.

Wet Dog

Armed with trademark hand-crafted instruments and brittle wit, Wet Dog course through a solid and energetic set. Relentless, marching bass mounts blunt, elemental drums; tempo-changes quicken the heart, teasing the audience into a state of contained frenzy (save the somewhat over-excited middle-aged chap to my right whose girlish screams reach fever pitch during Womens Final). Shrieked and whooped backing vocals fight their way through ramshackle guitar riffs, as main vocalist Rivka idly dead pans her way through the set. Lower Leg showcases the band's talent for crafting ridiculously infectious songs from rudimentary ingredients, and once again Wet Dog prove themselves to be queens of the lo-fi pile.

Viv Albertine

Viv Albertine is the omniawesome, and there is little point in attempting to refute this. Not only was she a member of seminal punk band The Slits, but she also happens to have a blisteringly caustic, dry sense of humour that instantaneously renders this entire audience utterly and consummately in love with her. A group of forty-something men bounce feverishly on their feet when she takes to the stage, unable to contain their excitement as she at once states she does not "believe in love". Within moments she has referred to herself as a "milf" and has declared marriage an "unnatural state". *swoon*

After a 25 year hiatus from the music industry, it is testament to Albertine's lasting impact that the venue is packed to the rafters. As soon as she starts to play, the room becomes deathly quiet as her raw, eerie guitar creeps through the crowd. With refreshing honesty, Viv sings candidly about love, sex (Never Come being a brilliantly sarcastic account of a man who would, quite simply, never come: "he was a withholder") and the trappings of married, domestic life (Couples are Creepy a perfect example of her sardonic new material). She recounts tales of a heady youth, surrounded by now iconic musicians, and at this point we are reminded that we are in the presence of such an icon: Albertine's personable, self-deprecating humour belying the achingly cool person beneath.

Once the giddiness subsides, we are left with a talented and strangely bewitching songwriter, and an arsenal of brilliant and brutally honest songs.

Review | Goldsmiths Ladyfest

by Little Miss B, 1st March 2010. All photography by Layla Smethurst for The Girls Are...

Bracelettes + PENS + Wetdog + Veronica Falls @ Goldsmiths Ladyfest.
DJ by Girl Germs.
Thurs 25th Feb 2010.

Regular readers will know this is the year of Ladyfest Ten, an anniversary celebrating a decade of lady action, achievements and general awesomeness. Not due to take place until November, expect to see a legion of associated events in the run up. Just like last week's Ladyfest, hosted by the wonderful senoritas at Goldsmith's. The fourth night of a five day run saw inspired line-up, Bracelettes, PENS, Wetdog and Veronica Falls take to the stage. Arriving to an alarmingly empty student union, it was not long before the simple pleasures of such a night became apparent: sofa to sit on, a pint of cider for a mere £2.20, and a smorgasbord of lady-tunes provided by DJ's Girl Germs. Nice. After a brief soundcheck, first support Bracelettes kicked off the proceedings with gusto.

Bracelettes

This undeniably charming, London based three piece consists of Ayako (guitar + vox), Satori (bass + vox) and Mark (drums), and I am ashamed to say this is the first time I've seen them live. Another one of those low-fi bands you stumble upon on Myspace, they far outstrip the majority of their contemporaries in terms of flair and skill. With matching bass and guitar, they skipped through a short but accomplished set, never faltering. Their simplistic, surf-inspired, garage rock calls, clearly display a certain level of ardor. This band are tight, slick and well-rehearsed, yet retain a sense of playfulness and spontaneity: a skill in its own right. Obvious comparisons would be to Mika Bomb and the 5.6.7.8's, with the Bracelettes ladies echoing the rabble-rousing girl chants that Japanese garage rock bands do so well, yet there is a heck of a lot more to these guys. Heavily tattooed Mark, pounding relentlessly at the drums, drove each song smack into the audience, as Ramones-esque bass lines and guitar riffs punctuated the beat. Sharing vocal duties, the girls revelled in playground cat-calls, and we the audience could not help but smile. So popular and impressive were they, we ended up losing our seats, space and prime position as the room filled with keen-bean, old and new fans. Definitely one to watch.

PENS

After a brief and stressful trip to the packed bar, The Girls Are favourites PENS were the next band to step up. They played a fantastically chaotic set, with timings and vocals going awry, but as ever, it did not matter. Always managing to stay just the right side of the DIY/low-fi aesthetic vs. just plain shit divide, they cruised through their set with nonchalance, flippancy and a very visible sense of fun. I love a multi-instrumentalist. I love a band who swap instruments. I really do. Now, the PENS ladies can never be described as being particularly proficient on each instrument, but to do so would be to disregard the very thing that makes this band so frackin ace. Consummate crowd-pleasers, and purveyors of some of the catchiest songs I know, it was a crying shame that the vocal levels were sub-par. Without full vox, these songs can become slightly repetitive. However, they were close to the best I have seen them, and yet again, PENS never fail to disappoint.

Wetdog

Wetdog were clearly and irrefutably the most interesting and entertaining band of the night. If you have not seen this three-piece before, I firmly suggest you do so, post-haste. With their undulating, deliciously menacing basslines, their antiquated, eerie guitar parts, and their bizarre, haunting call and response vocals, they sound like no other band I've heard, despite what every review written about them would like us to believe. A vampiric Vivian Girls, a haunted Huggy Bear, all fall short of what this band actually capture. Marching, rhythmic, and brilliantly elemental, the core and crux of this band is their kinship to the human heartbeat, the rhythms of our own bodies, so that even when off-kilter, it is impossible to resist tapping a foot, or nodding one's head when these ladies play. Yet, they remain firmly tongue in cheek, never succumbing to the uber-serious and somewhat tedious discussion surrounding them. What was an interested audience quickly metamorphosed into a frenetic crowd soon after Wetdog launched their musical assault.

Veronica Falls

As ever, Veronica Falls played a faultless set. It would be misleading to state that they get better with each viewing, as this might somehow imply they were ever anything less than impeccable. Beguiling and majestic in equal measure, the Comet Gain-loving four piece managed to get everyone up on their feet, the revellers swamping the band, leaving one big party pit that continued on through the night. Need we say more?

A huge and resounding well done to the organisers of this event.
You should be proud as punch.

To see more photo's from the night, please click here.

http://www.myspace.com/bracelettes

http://www.myspace.com/penspenspenis

http://www.myspace.com/wetdogthebest

http://www.myspace.com/veronicafallshard

Introducing | PENS

Little Miss B, 16 August 2009...

“What is this? This is crap”…

PENS are not for everyone. This might seem like an obvious statement, a bit of a no-shit Poirot situation, but if you were ever looking for a band to divide opinion, it seems PENS are the ideal candidates. My aurally impaired ex and I are not the only ones to disagree on this matter. One glance at DiS reviews of the band should give you a fair idea of the polarity of opinion surrounding these ‘three girls and a £1 microphone’.

Hailing from East London, this all-lady three piece make what can only be described as... noise. Scuzz, trash, thrash, call it what you will. Whatever it be, it be good.Like contemporaries La La Vasquez and Wet Dog, they are part of a recent spate of DIY indie bands (I am loathe to call them punk: it’s all a little too self-aware for me) chugging out distorted, often indecipherable, riotous girl chants.

Where PENS manage to stand out is in their ability to write wicked-catchy, makes-my-foot-wanna-do-a-little-boogie songs. I challenge you to listen to ‘High in the Cinema’ and not find it forevermore stuck to your brain like a spitty wad of pavement-bound Juicy Fruit. ‘Networking’ and ‘Freddie’ are joyous. ‘Hate Your Calendar' is pretty close to genius.

Ok… There’s nothing new here. This is not ground-breaking music. We are not going to be hailing these songs as classics in ten years time. But frankly, who gives a darn? Rough, fun, and endlessly enthusiastic, PENS are a three-tiered lady-sound party… Or a shambolic mess. You call it.

Album ‘Hey friend, what you doing?’ is due out on 23rd Sept. Visit Myspace to pre-order. PENS are currently touring the States with Graffiti Island and Crocodiles, and are not due to play in London again until late September. Unlucky.

http://www.last.fm/music/PENS
http://www.myspace.com/penspenspenis

To read more Introductions by Little Miss B, click below:
Billy The Kid
Minnie Birch
Selah Sue