SXSW 2009 ARTIST ALERT: Vivian Girls
Hey kids, remember the alt-rockin', grrrl-powered 1990s, when fierce female bands like Bikini Kill, Babes In Toyland, Huggy Bear, Sleater-Kinney, the Red Aunts, L7, Hole, and Veruca Salt screamed and shouted and smashed it up as noisily and attitudinally as the boys?
Well, I do, and so do Brooklyn garage rockers Vivian Girls, who came to South By Southwest this year to play 18 shows (yes, you read that right: EIGHTEEN) and refresh everyone's memory of that awesome, estrogen-fueled era.
How many all-boy bands are brave enough to play 18 gigs in four days, and would look as good doing it?
The Vivian Girls were indeed looking good, and sounding good, Thursday afternoon, when they played the Urban Outfitters Backlot party. There, in exchange for their rocking services, they were handsomely rewarded with the adoration of a packed tent's worth of sweaty but well-dressed fans, plus a fabulous Urban Outfitters shopping spree. (My attempt to tag along on this spree as the "fourth Vivian Girl" didn't quite work out; oh well.)
Here are the Vivian Girls chatting outside the store right before their gig, proving that a good rockin' attitude never goes out of fashion, regardless of decade or gender:
