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This was the best Dum Dum Girls show of the three times I have seen them, even bettering the one they played here at Maxwell’s last October, as well as Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory in September 2010. It’s not that the previous two shows weren’t great; they certainly were. But the band had a more ferocious edge and a newfound punkish roar that, while percolating below the surface before, came out more forcefully tonight.
The key was new brunette bassist Malia James, who has replaced the departed red-haired Bambi. Previously playing with The Black Ryder and Marnie Stern (she’s also a photographer, having snapped Darker My Love’s Alive As You Are LP photos), James’s thumping bass lines gave the band’s catchy rhythms an extra snap and thrust. Sandy’s drumming also sounded more formidable and piledriving, with exhilarating cymbal crashes punctuating every song.
Even better, singer Dee Dee seems to gain confidence with every show, sounding tougher and more menacing than before. My only quibble was that they put too much reverb on her vocals, which took about three or four songs to get used to. Having seen her play two NYC acoustic shows last year (at Glasslands Gallery and at a CMJ event on a seventh-floor bar on Allen Street), I prefer hearing her voice more au naturel. But once my ears adjusted, her singing soared, especially on the set’s blistering standout, “Heartbeat”.
The band was on fire in the show’s second half, blasting through “Jail La La”, “Bedroom Eyes”, and a great new song, “Lavender Haze” (which features cool surf riffs from underrated guitarist Jules). But the biggest surprise of the night, which took me completely off guard, was a set-closing cover of The Pale Saints classic “Sight of You” (from their 1990 album The Comforts of Madness). It was no merely serviceable version either, sounding every bit as smashing and invigorating as the original. An inspired choice, and further proof that Dum Dum Girls are hitting their stride as a terrific live band.
