PGMG II : Electric Boogaloo

March 22, 2004

A little bit after the Wrens show, I was able to catch Pretty Girls Make Graves once again. A lot’s changed for PGMG since I last saw them. Their album was actually released and they’ve had enough push from Matador to land a video on MTV, they had all their equipment stolen and most recently, Nathan Thelen, one of their guitarists, left the band in order to spend time with his family.

This show was at the El Rey, which is just about twice as big as the Echo where I saw them last, and it just happened to be on the same night as a sold out Yeah Yeah Yeahs show at the even bigger Henry Fonda Theater. I expected it to be a pretty light crowd, but apparently there are more than enough hipsters in LA to go around, as the place was packed and probably just short of being sold out.

I covered PGMG in pretty decent detail last time, so I’m going to avoid repeating myself. PGMG is probably one of the very best bands I’ve seen live, but they were just a step short of mind-blowing this night. The big reason was the departure of Nathan Thelen. Losing a member will always hurt, but it’s even more apparent on a band that relies so much on chemistry. Replacement guitarist Seth Jabour of Les Savy Fav put up a valiant effort but there were a few times where it felt like he wasn’t on the same page, and overall there just wasn’t the same kind of electricity. On a sartorial sidenote, Jabour was wearing a tight, checkered sleeveless shirt that made him seem like the lost member of Loverboy.

As for improvements, I’d say that Andrea Zollo’s a stronger singer now than she was even six months ago, commanding the crowd and the band with more confidence and coming over the top of the band on the choruses with a lot more power. Sometimes, her vocal can get a bit lost in the chaos, and that’s happening less and less now. Also, now that the album’s been out for a few months and a bit more lived in with the fanbase, the crowd reactions are much stronger and organic. People know when the clapping bits are, when the music’s going to burst and when Zollo’s going to fire it up and they responded accordingly.

Even without Thelen, Pretty Girls Make Graves are still a must-see act, and I’d expect them to be back up to speed in a month or so. Hopefully everything will settle down for them soon and they’ll be able to blast past this transitional phase pretty quickly.

IGeneration has a full show from XFM available for download, so you may want to check it out for a little PGMG flavor.

Posted in From Blown Speakers