Great Escape 2009: Vivian Girls & Abe Vigoda, Pavillion Theatre

Biased as some may be, it is difficult to deny Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls and LA’s Abe Vigoda their respective crowns of awesome. Put them one after the other on the same stage and you’re asking for it; “it” being all round general greatness. Why? For one, they are all very attractive and secondly, possibly more importantly, they are all extremely talented musicians who have each mastered the art of stage presence.

Vivian Girls appear like three greek godesses. If greek godesses were placed in modern day rock and roll: messy hair, fringes galore, really nice tats, every guy in the room’s jaw drops. They break into their siren like song, with the chords of ‘All The Time’ echoing throughout the Theatre. Not much movement, but those that do bop, do so respectfully. These girls mesmerise, each one of them mastering their sound with apparent ease. Natural grace, natural cool… They clatter (in tune) and crash (in a ladylike manner) through their wonderful debut. ‘Never See Me Again’, ‘Wild Eyes’ and ‘Such A Joke’ are all recognised and enjoyed. Thoroughly enjoyed. Cassie, Katy and Ali are a real pleasure to watch. Smiling, grinning, laughing in such an adorable way it’s hard not to fall in love. And then you understand that they’re like the girls teen-flicks are made about: so great, too great, way too great for you to ever get a chance with any of them. You’re lucky to be so close as they start up ‘Damaged’. It’s all coming to an end. You don’t want it to, but you gotta accept it. They know it hurts, so they show you they care, by doing something really special. Sure, they do their little trick at every show, but it never ceases to amaze. As the song draws to a close, the instrumental begins. Cassie puts her guitar down, wipes the sweat of her forehead and strolls over to Katy, they switch bass and Katy skips to Ali who hands her the drums. Then they make loads and loads of noise. And it’s fucking loud. The crowd goes crazy for them, and then, like a dream they vanish. All smiles and fringes.

Hard to beat. It’s a challenge indeed, but the West Coast boys live up to it. Standing tall, they kick off their tropical punk. There’s definitely a lot more movement. Jolting heads, awkwardly bopping torsos (let’s not forget the majority of the audience is made up of skinny young bucks whose lack in social skills is hugely compensated by an innate cuteness). Guitarist Juan Velazquez holds the entertainment factor: drunk? Or possibly the most hyperactive human being to grace the stage since MC Hammer? Either way, his constant yapping irritates, whilst at the same time drawing you to him. Hard to tell whether or not his bandmates appreciate. But who cares? Little do we know yet, but we are about to witness a very important moment in new rock history. Frontman Michael Vidal introduces the next song, and adds a twist: “We’re now gonna play ‘Don’t Lie’, off the new EP, and we’re gonna get Vivian Girls to come and sing with us.” And there they are. Cassie and Ali brandish tambourines, as Katy takes to the mic. What ensues looks like probably the most fun you can have without taking your pants off. Desire to be in a band aches. It’s like playschool. Well at least that’s what it looks like. Especially when the stage invasion happens. Velazquez throws down his instrument and proceeds to pounce on an unsuspecting fan; must’ve made the guy’s life. Drums and mic stands fly through the air, before security are called on and the sound fades away leaving an empty stage and a very happy fan, softly stroking his shoulders.