Every city has its heyday. Currently, New York City and Omaha, Neb. seem to be cleaning up with hit bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Bright Eyes, respectively. Being a part of that wave is always a rush?somehow it makes you feel like you had a hand in their fame. But you didn’t, and soon you’re left with nothing but some fliers and a fanzine. Well, maybe even a window cling. Such is the case with D.C. The good old District’s heyday was, well, back in the day. You’ve heard the list; I don’t need to go through it again (Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Unrest, The Make-Up, Tuscadero). If you lived in D.C. when the place was rockin’, you were always sure to express your civic pride. Well, its time to pull it out again (even if you never had it) as two of D.C.’s finest come back to grace the good ol’ Black Cat.
Girls Against Boys (GVSB) has been kicking around for more than a decade. Formed in 1988 with the cohesive glue of Brendan Canty (now of Fugazi fame) and Eli Janney, Girls Against Boys recorded little more than musical crumbs. A couple years later and sans Canty, Janny and three other blokes transplanted themselves to New York City and began the sludge rock project of GVSB.
In early 1994, Touch and Go Records released Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby in the perfect time and place. Kevin Smith picked up GVSB’s song “Kill the Sexplayer” for the soundtrack to the cult hit Clerks, and the rest is history, sort of. Although some might say that GVSB’s wave has crested and foamed ashore, with the release of the early 2002 You Can’t Fight What You Can’t See, you can’t say they aren’t trying to stay afloat. GVSB plays tonight at the Black Cat with post-punk revivalists Radio 4 and local no-wave sensation Black Eyes.
Fresh from a benefit show to help cover former bassist (later of Unrest) Bridget Cross’ legal bills, and, well, not much else, former Sub Popers Velocity Girl are hoping that you, too, remember the ‘90s. That was when Brian Nelson, Archie Moore, Kelly Riles and Jim Spellman hooked up with current (kind of) front woman Sarah Shannon and got one of their songs featured in a Volkswagen commercial. After the success of the band’s first appearance in years, it seems as though these D.C. natives are taking a shot at being a band again. Whether this is a good idea remains to be seen: Velocity Girl’s addictive brand of brit-pop/shoegaze-infused rock made for a couple good records (and did we mention that Volkswagen commercial?) back in the day, but there must have been a reason that they went away. And it surely wasn’t all personal differences; toward the end Velocity Girl seemed to lose a bit of its musical luster. Rumor has it that there’s a new album in the works, so listen for stuff you don’t recognize. Or just go because they haven’t run that damn commercial in eight years.
Black Cat is located at 1811 14th St., N.W.
