I dunno. For all the praise that Pitchfork showers upon Girls, I was a little….bored at the show.
Yeah, I said it, I got a little bored. That’s not to say that Girls isn’t a great band – this was made apparent as the thunderous “Die” bounced about the First Ave mainroom, providing a much-needed jolt midway though Chris Owens and crew’s set.
I mean, it wasn’t a sleepy show either; with bouquets of flowers adorning the mic stands, drums and keys, the show opened with “Heartbreaker” from 2010’s Broken Dreams Club. Toe-tapping “Laura” followed, but things started to pick up more with “Honey Bunny,” that song’s upbeat, 50s-esque beat literally shaking things up a bit.
And then, everything just started to blend together. “Alex,” a more mid-tempo jam completely melted into “Love Like A River,” a pretty, nostalgic song, however I was ready to snooze. Thankfully, that’s when “Die” roared to life and I (along with the rest of the sparse but enthusiastic crowd) was ready to jam again.
Good thing, because Girls’ mega-hit “Lust for Life” sprang from the stage and sounded as excellent as I had hoped for. Oh just kidding though, because then things got super slow again with “My Ma.” I’m all for slow songs guys, but this was a little too slow burning, killing the energy of the one-two punch of “Die” and “Lust For Life.”
Anyways, more music happened before Girls closed out the set with “Vomit,” a slower jam (again) but one that has major anthemic qualities to it. It was the perfect way to end the set before the encore. Speaking of the encore, the show was closed out for real with a solo performance from Owens on “Jamie Marie” (total downer) before the excellent “Hellhole Ratrace” and “Broken Dreams Club” finished things off.
So, it wasn’t a bad show, at all. It’s just that, after an hour of back-to-back Girls songs, it all just kinda started to sound the same. Sorry for partying.
Oh, and THIS happened:
