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After their breakthrough third LP Too True and a Late Show with David Letterman appearance, Dum Dum Girls played two of their biggest headlining shows in NYC. Granted, Bowery Ballroom’s 550-person capacity isn’t that much greater than Brooklyn’s 300-capacity Knitting Factory, where I first saw the foursome (now a live five-piece with the addition of Andrew Miller on guitar) in September 2010, and they did play a sold-out CMJ show here in 2011. But there was a bolstered buzz radiating from the crammed-in crowd, and the band exuded a more salient stage stature – indeed, it was strange seeing stickwoman Sandy, usually hidden on her miniscule kit, now elevated high above her mates on a drum riser!
Guitarists Andrew Miller, Jules & Dee Dee at Bowery Ballroom
Drummer Sandy & bassist Malia at Bowery Ballroom
Perhaps due to the new LP’s dreamier, textured sound, or the venue’s more spacious confines, their set lacked some of the punkier energy of their October 2011 and February 2012 Hoboken, NJ shows at Maxwell’s. But faster first LP tunes like title track “I Will Be” and “It Only Takes One Night” – their primitive, bedroom-recorded LP sound coated with a cleaner full-band sheen – ignited spark. Ditto their sped-up cover of Pale Saints’ 1990 The Comforts of Madness classic “Sight of You.” And Too True highlights “Rimbaud Eyes” and “Lost Boys & Girls Club” (with its slowed-down Byrds “Eight Miles High” melody) benefitted from the live lineup’s more potent punch and spiraling three-guitar attack. To close, singer Dee Dee’s show-stopping, note-holding bellow on 2011 second LP Only in Dreams’ “Coming Down” sent everyone home with mouths agape and arm hairs raised.
Following a European tour, Dee Dee and co. returned three months later for a free outdoor show in family-friendly Park Slope’s Prospect Park (thus, Dee’s Dee’s ultra-sheer, envelope-pushing outfit tops from earlier 2014 shows were smartly substituted with a more conservative collared one; tot-toting parents could breathe easier!). The gig’s early going was marred by atypically bad Bandshell sound, with way-too-thumpy bass/drums overwhelming the guitars and vocals. But the problem was fixed midway through, in time for a blistering “Bedroom Eyes,” another terrific Dee Dee vocal on 2012 End of Daze EP’s “Crimson & Clover”-like “Lord Knows,” and their spirited cover of The Smiths’ “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” (from 1986’s The Queen is Dead). Once again, the spine-shivering “Coming Down” ended the night in triumphant fashion.
Andrew Miller & Jules at Prospect Park
At Bowery, the soft-spoken Dee Dee acknowledged how far they’d come, grudgingly recalling one of their earliest New York shows at now-defunct Bruar Falls in 2009. Judging by the (well deserved) loud applause from the few thousand in attendance at Prospect Park, our chances of seeing the band again up-close and personal on similar small stages could be permanently passé.
Dee Dee & Sandy at Prospect Park
Malia at Prospect Park
Two superb female-fronted bands opened each show. At Bowery Ballroom, Portland, OR shoegaze/dreamy popsters Blouse played a strong set, with six of their nine songs coming from their excellent 2013 second LP Imperium, and the rest from their self-titled 2011 debut. Sensual, Nico-esque singer Charlie Hilton not only looked stylish and striking in a sleeveless red dress, but her voice beguiled and bedazzled, especially on the tense “Eyesite,” heavenly (and Lost Patrol-like) “1000 Years,” and sweeping “Arrested.” Blouse’s performance alone was worth the admission price, which underscored what a terrific double bill this was!
Blouse’s Charlie Hilton at Bowery Ballroom
Led by winsome vocalist Amber Panini, Brooklyn’s Hospitality opened at Prospect Park. Not familiar with them, I watched two YouTube videos prior to the show, “Going Out” and “Friends of Friends” (they starred Dean & Britta and Arrested Development’s Alia Shawkat, respectively, so the band’s got cachet!). I immediately recognized them as the second and third songs of their set, so the melodies must’ve stuck. Later on, their quirky, catchy pop seemed to adopt more Chameleons UK-inspired atmospheric guitars, astutely pointed out by my sharp-eared colleague Herb Jue. Now to check out their two LPs, 2012’s Hospitality and 2014’s Trouble! (I arrived too late to catch the night’s first opener, Brooklyn’s all-female foursome TEEN.)
Hospitality’s Amber Panini & Nathan Michel at Prospect Park
(Below are more photos from both Dum Dum Girls shows. Enjoy!)
From Bowery Ballroom:
From Prospect Park:
