On the Road Again
Live Reviews:

Girls Against Boys
August 2, 1998
Showbox, Seattle, Washington State, U.S.A.

Seattle music freaks appreciate a good rock show. A little Freak*On*Ica, the title of Girls Against Boys' latest album, goes a long way in a city that practically invented the term. Because GVSB manage to successfully fuse DC punk rock and loop-infested disco, even a Seattle clubgoer would prefer to dance than mosh.

Opening with a come-hither rendition of their new single 'Park Avenue', vocalist Scott McCloud's tireless, gritty delivery throughout the entire show proved that, in the world of GVSB, there is no time to have a nice day. You just shut up and rock your face off. Meanwhile, keyboardist Eli Janney is a show unto himself. Performing creep-show, organ gymnastics for 70 minutes straight, except for the times when he attacks his home-made four-string to add a double-bassed edge to the Johnny Temple / Alexis Fleisig GVSB backbone. Janney describes GVSB as "the eighties without the sound"- or the hair. This is a band that has more voltage than their amps; their equipment's capacity seems meek when compared to the amount of human energy they put into them.

The set-list, a sampler from GVSB's essential Venus Luxury No.1 Baby and Freak*On*Ica left the audience drooling after style-conscious blasts of 'Vogue Thing' and 'Pleasureized'. Girls Against Boys are hot favourites and the fact that they're all uber-babes, a mere sidebar. For those who have the opinion that metal should never have been introduced to electronica, they should go see a GVSB gig and get back to me. This is one live show that will blow their rocker brains into the middle of next week.