I've raved about the Shondes before and I'll do it again. They're one of my favorite bands these days. Raw and beautiful, angry and delicate, driving and lyrical. All at the same time. This is what post-millennial riot-grrl punk is supposed to be about and they nail it. Wear it all on your sleeve...emotions, ideas, politics, gender & sexuality, religion. Introspective, but unashamed.
I caught them live two years ago but missed last years tour. Musically, they've gotten a lot tighter over the last two years, with better harmonies and better dynamics. Eli's swirling violin, at times a bit classical, at other times cantorial, are in constant duet with Louisa's melodic, in your face, vocals. Their new guitarist, Fureigh, both in look and sound, remind me of Mick Jones of the Clash...churning and nimble. And Temim's drums are were fantastic, precise, pounding and pushing the band forward.
The only drag last night was that the show was pretty empty. They were on the last night of a highly successful 6 week tour, promoting their new album "My Dear One" and had they'd been packing in clubs around the country. Last night was a Sunday night all ages show at a local teen center, with most of the college students gone and with a lot of the marketing directed at the local gay and lesbian teens. The end result was a fantastic end of tour show, with not nearly enough people there to appreciate it.
Here are two videos to give you a taste of what you missed (or what you saw if you caught them earlier in their tour). The first is live concert footage from SXSW and the second is an "introducing The Shondes" video. Great fun. For more info check out their Myspace page or grab their new album from Amazon.
The Shondes - ''My Dear One" Live @ SXSW 2010
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