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• Cowboy Monkey hosts Vivian Girls and the Beets

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Vivian Girls starter kit
Unfamiliar with the ’60s-pop meets ’70s-punk style of the Vivian Girls? Check out the following tracks for a brief introduction to the trio’s work.
“Moped Girls” — With the average Vivian Girls track clocking in at just about two minutes, “Moped Girls” is no exception to the rule — a simple ditty of bikes and chicks at 2:06.
“Tell The World” — “Tell The World” is a Shangri-Las-esque number complete with plenty of cymbal and layered vocals.
“Walking Alone At Night” — Best translated on a session video for Pitchfork’s A-D-D, this track finds the Girls filling a tiny living room with tales of ... walking alone at night.
“I Can’t Stay” — One of my personal favorite Vivian Girls’ songs can be found in the acoustic version of “I Can’t Stay” at http://www.ifyoumakeit.com.
“Wild Eyes” — Possibly the most well-known song from the Girls’ repertoire, “Wild Eyes” is fittingly repetitive and lo-fi. They don’t claim to be anything else.

Related Venues

Cowboy Monkey »
Address: 6 Taylor St. Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (217) 356-0006
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The Vivian Girls are the hermaphroditic heroines of perhaps one of the longest fictional manuscripts ever written, The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion by Chicago recluse Henry Darger.

The Vivian Girls are also an all-girl Brooklyn-based garage-punk trio that are set to play Cowboy Monkey Aug. 29 in support of their newest LP, Everything Goes Wrong available September 9 from In the Red records.

“I think the name fits us pretty well,” said guitarist/vocalist Cassie Ramone. “[Darger’s Vivian Girls] are girls with penises, which is interesting because our music straddles the line between masculine and feminine.”

Channeling influences from ’60s girl group harmonies and ’70s punk swagger, Vivan Girls have forged their own identity that has resulted in a sound likened to “the Beach Boys meets Nirvana — but with girls.” Having only been around for less than three years, the band has been fortunate enough to tour domestically and abroad many times over, including a recent stint in Mexico City with The King Khan and BBQ Show.

“It was one of the best shows we’ve ever played,” Ramone said. “The reception was great and people were really into it. By the time we were done playing, all the alcohol was gone.”

The band’s latest effort, Everything Goes Wrong, comes on the heels of a slew of vinyl-only releases. Recorded in March of 2009 at an all-analog studio in Costa Mesa, CA, the record is decidedly “more punk” than their first album, explained Ramone. “But, I feel like we were experimenting more with song structure on this album.”

Vivian Girls embark on the Nightmare of Sound Tour in support of Everything Goes Wrong on Aug. 25, concluding with trips to Japan, Australia and Hawaii. They will be joined by fellow Brooklynites, the Beets for the first leg of the tour. Similar in aesthetic, the Beets are equally notable for their minimalistic ’60s sound — think 13th Floor Elevators meets Sonic Youth with a pop edge.

Catch Vivian Girls and the Beets with Champaign locals My Werewolf Diary at Cowboy Monkey on Saturday, Aug. 29 for a mere $5. According to Ramone, beer drinking and hell raising are strongly encouraged, so go ahead and drop off your drinking shoes at the dry cleaners.