Girls Against Boys at Sydney Metro, June 28th 2002

In their 12-year existence, Washington DC's Girls Against Boys have never managed to reach Australia on tour, but that's all changed with the help of Aussie scuzz-rock heroes Magic Dirt. Being huge fans, "The Dirt" (as nobody calls them) invited GvsB to accompany them on their Oz-wide City Trash Tour, and the clearly delighted four-piece happily obliged.

I say "clearly delighted" because nothing can hide the pleasure on deliciously sinewy singer Scott McCloud's face as he stands centre stage and sizes up his brand new audience for the first time. McCloud is all about young Lou Reed, dressed in a black t-shirt, his angular features startlingly fierce but paradoxically bright considering the dark black noise emanating from him and his similarly-attired bandmates (drummer Alexis Fleisig lets the side down somewhat by wearing blue, but who's quibbling?). Here is power, here is passion, here could of course have been a po-faced mess of testosterone-fuelled hot air. But GvsB know better than that, way better, and from "Cruise Yourself" onwards they're on fire.

You know how Fugazi made a huge, intense racket but you quietly wished they had more, y'know, tunes? Well knock me down, here's GvsB to provide precisely that. And what makes them even more spectacular is the simple fact that their supertight rhythm section - get this - actually have rhythm. No tedious clodhopping metal bludgeoning here (we'll leave that to the headliners); the funk in here is phenomenal, bassist Johnny Temple thudding seven shades of shit out of his obliging instrument while McCloud rasps "TheKindaMzkYouLike" - ain't that the truth - somehow carefree and totally committed, both at once.

"Kill The Sexplayer" (ever seen Clerks? Then you've heard it) whooshes by and suddenly tonight finds its place in the world like the final bit of the 90s noisepop jigsaw: McCloud is what Black Francis wished he was when he sang "I was wearing eyeliner, she was wearing eyeliner...it was so good down here" on "Subbacultcha" - fittingly, tonight's intro tape was indeed Pixies' underrated Trompe Le Monde album - and Girls Against Boys are here, groping 4 luna for all our sakes.

Totally unorchestrated but chaotically loud and unashamedly groovy, GvsB rocked Sydney harder than anybody could have possibly expected. Note to Magic Dirt: Pick vastly superior support bands at your peril...

Girls Against Boys website

(originally published 1st July 2002)