Great Service

On Tuesday, I was at The Baby G for a show sponsored by Venus Fest. Opener Bad Waitress set a pretty high bar for the night. I had heard something about them at the punk show last week. Then I found out they were opening for Wolf Parade at the Danforth Music Hall last Friday. I can see how they might be gaining some momentum. My first exposure to this all-female punk-rock was a great one. The glitter make-up disguised a band that played hard. Bad Waitress is as if The Bangles, Henry Rollins, and Tool collided.

Nyssa brought androgynous swagger, an Elvis dressed in back, and kept the energy going strong. But if the crowd was head-banging before, now they were dancing with joy. Her lyrics was nihilistic and a bit despairing, but wrapped up in an alluring musical package.

Gauche from Washington, D.C. was done wrong by the venue. The Baby G and its older sibling The Garrison usually have mediocre sound. Tonight it was both muddily mixed and too loud for the headliner. Their complex B52s meets The Sugarcubes sound became a cacophonous assault that quickly thinned out the crowd. Despite wearing high-quality ear plugs, I gave up after about 4 songs. It was a shame because they sounded great on their latest album.