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Subject: Typical Girls: Women in Punk/Post-Punk/Underground Music (Circa 1975-1980s)

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  • From: WWWhatsup <joly AT punkcast.com>
  • To: Typical Girls <typicalgirls AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [TypicalGirls] The Coathangers - another review
  • Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:04:25 -0400

http://www.emorywheel.com/detail.php?n=25460

In the intimate Performing Arts Studio, with fiery,
crimson lights illuminating the venue and balloons
littering the floor, demanding to be popped, four
effervescent females stormed the Localsfest stage
Friday night with a barrage of post-punk guitars,
boisterous drums and an energy that begged the
audience to rock along with them.

They were The Coathangers, a band with a biting sense
of humor whose name comically derives from a pre-
medical method for abortion. The group will sing and
shout, stomp and jump, and, blissfully, never take
themselves seriously. So appropriately, the Atlanta
quartet delivered on their main goal — to bring the
party, and bring it hard.

Localsfest, a concert focused on promoting up-and-
coming Atlanta-area musicians, has been put on by
Emory's radio station WMRE for the past couple of
years. The same event last semester featured Judi
Chicago and One Hand Holds The Other. Last Friday, it
was The Coathangers and The Hiss' turn to represent
the future of the Atlanta music scene — to mixed
results.

The Coathangers opened with a noisy and danceable
instrumental song, one that got the crowd ready for
the impending night of raucous punk music. Yet, while
the band was lively and ready to rock, the small and
disparate audience needed convincing.

Vocalist Stephanie "Rusty Coathanger" Luke took little
time talking to the audience during breaks, moving
quickly from one song to the next, setting a tone
suitable to nonstop headbanging. Her singing was sharp
and shrill, comparable to recent girl-rockers Be Your
Own Pet, Le Tigre and my own pet cat running its long
and dirty nails down a chalkboard.

With irreverent lyrics and song titles just as obscene
— notably, "Nestle In My Boobies" and "Don't Touch My
S--t!" — Luke pushed onward through the night, rocking
out to songs that hit the audience like lightning
bolts. Each of the tunes typically clocked in at
around two minutes; apposite for the brand of fast-
paced punk that characterize The Coathangers' live
shows.

In an interview with WMRE's magazine, Frequency,
bassist Meredith Franco said, "we just want to have
fun….'Nestle In My Boobies' isn't about feminism, it's
about boobies."

The Coathangers' relentless sense of jokey
entertainment was clear throughout the show.

Unfortunately, many of the lyrics were lost amongst
the noise made by overly distorted power-chords and
sloppy drums. The band, which, according to last.fm,
"formed in 2006 as a joke," was noticeably amateurish.
Yet what the band lacked in experience they made up
for with unadulterated, irresponsible energy.

One of the biggest jump-alongs of the show and an
apparent crowd favorite was "Wreckless Boy," which
combined an eerie progression-heavy verse with a
captivating and hook-filled chorus. The band shined
here, harnessing their vocals in the song's climax of
"R-e-c-k-l-e-s-s, oh boy! You're a reckless boy! A
reckless boy!"


---------------------------------------------------------------
WWWhatsup NYC
http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com
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  • [TypicalGirls] The Coathangers - another review, WWWhatsup, 04/12/2008

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