Dum Dum Girls and SISU live at The Roxy

So I've raved about Dum Dum Girls once or twice (here, here and er... here...) so there was no way that I was going to miss their gig at everyone's favourite dive bar on Sunset, The Roxy; but when Sandra Vu - an incredibly talented musician that I stalk follow on twitter - tweeted that not only would she be hammering out a beat with the sticks behind Dee Dee and Co. but that her band SISU (whom I've also raved manically about ** cough ** such as here for instance) were the support, I knew that I had truly died and gone to heaven...

SISU's Sandra Vu

It's hard to put a finger on what makes SISU so mesmerising... but there's that enthralling combination of eighties-influenced industrial synths, monotonic drums, throbbing bass, guitar effects-pedalled to the nines and Sandra's sinister yet spellbinding vocals. The whole package is then expertly woven together to create the dark, brooding ethereal twilight soundtrack that grabs my attention... 

And live this crescendo of guitars, drums and synths create a heavenly wall of sound, but unfortunately tonight the vocals are a washed away in the mix - which is unfortunate - as anyone who's listened to SISU's albums or caught the band in a venue with half-decent acoustics can vouch - there is something totally enthralling about her voice...

That being said, it's hard to criticise the set - featuring as it does songs from both "Blood Tears" and "Light Eyes" - indeed the deliciously disconcerting soundtrack is perfectly suited to The Roxy's acoustics - especially on songs such as "Sinking Feeling" and "Harpoon" - not to mention my personal favourite, "Ofelia" (It's a flute thing...) 

However, I do yearn to see the band play somewhere like the El Rey, where the theatre's sound system can really do justice to a band as textural as SISU. Guess I'll just have to go and see them next time they're in town...

By the time that Dum Dum Girls take to the stage, with once again Andrew Miller putting in a sterling shift, adding some additional fret-work, The Roxy is packed to the rafters (unfortunately not everyone follows gig etiquette and gets there early to catch the support band...) And just to ensure that we're all really nice and toasty, the cooling breeze from off of Sunset is missing; the entrance remains firmly shut - even DDG bassist Malia James is keen to point out that despite spending a week in the desert tonight is the hottest it's been...

Dee Dee Penny (Photograph by Brandon Winters / L.A. Record)

Although there's the expected emphasis on material from the this year's stellar (Anglophone) year-list contender "Too True" (arguably Dee Dee's finest collection as song-writer / composer), the band's set liberally dips in and out of material from their entire back catalogue, kicking-of with "Mine tonight" and "I got nothing" from the "End of Daze" EP. It's obvious that the band intend to plough through as much material as they can cram into their slot - there's minimal inbetween song banter, the band ignoring the anonymous and lame alcohol-enhanced bravado shouts of "I lurve you..."

The songs from "Too True" are eagerly received (I can't reiterate how consistent an album this is.) There's a gorgeous version of what has become my favourite track, "Are you okay?" - although I still have nightmares from Bret Easton Ellis' disturbing short film. The song is made even more poignant by the delicious added harmonies - most DDG songs are perfect three minute vignettes and they arguably don't get any more perfect than this. The reverbed guitar on "In the wake of you" literally bounces off of the walls... And that being said Mrs Blog quite likes "Rimbaud eyes" and of course "Lost boys and girls club" - with it's exquisite pedal-to-the-metal riff (Mrs Blog is a bit of an alt rock guitar aficionado, if truth be told)

The band whizz through their main set in a little over a very hot and humid hour, finishing with their cover of Pale Saints' "Sight of you". However the deserved encore's final song is for me the highlight of highlights of the evening  - now I may have stated that "Too True" is DDG's finest album - but seriously (IMHO obviously...) has Dee Dee ever written as good a song as "Coming down?" Firstly, it's six-plus minutes of absolute perfection. Secondly, it's an incredibly powerful song. Thirdly, it's the perfect homage to the wistful rhythms of This Mortal Coil and dream-pop of Mazzy Star... And when Dee Dee holds that note as she implores "There I go..." - not once, but twice - you know that you've just witnessed one of the great song performances being abso-bloody-lutely nailed... As this You Tube video I found captures...

Dum Dum Girls perform "Coming Down" at The Roxy 

Dum Dum Girls are now off on their travels to Europe. We Europeans know a good thing when we see and hear them. So - if tickets are available - you really do owe it to yourself to catch them live.

With The Roxy being lit slightly darker than the Black Hole of Calcutta, I'm indebted to LA Record magazine for allowing me to reproduce Brandon Winters' photograph of Dee Dee Penny, above. You can check out more of Brandon's fantastic gig photography here...