The Boy of Girl show on March 26th was scheduled to start at 1:00 AM but didn’t get rolling until at least two in the morning. No bitching allowed in Berlin. The nightlife in this town runs on two basic principles: techno and narcotics. The über-trendy HBC (formerly the Hungarian Cultural Center) was flush with both for a Saturday night set slotted with DJs, DJs, more DJs: and Boy of Girl. It might be an awkward bill for some bands, but Boy of Girl’s cocktail of electronic beats, live drums, and techno-diva vocals fit seamlessly into the general ambiance of disco fever. Think updated Blondie (QRO photos) with a dirrrtier house edge: Boy of Girl straddles the line between punk sass and dance party.
The club hadn’t been made over much since the cultural center closed, except to add a hideous ‘80s neon light display to the interior of the main hall. Or was that originally there? Hard to say exactly where to draw the line between the drab wood-paneled, low pile-carpeted Communist era chic and the honestly poor taste of westernized Hungarians. In any case, the local German hipsters ate it up – and why not? HBC is the sort of club you dream about: spacious, lightly policed, with plenty of dark corners to get up to god knows what. By the time Boy of Girl took the stage, the crowd was generously lubricated.
Originally a twosome (Paul and Rosie), the pair recently added a third boy to handle live drums (Boys of Girl now?). The element of real percussion frees up the electronic samples to play a more atmospheric role, building a more dramatic platform for the vocals. Rosie plays the punk girl-meets-techno diva role with aplomb: shoulder-length bleach blonde hair, short shorts, and legs that won’t quit. Usually it’s poor form to be so blunt about such things, but in this case sensuality was very much the order of the night. A Berlin club at 2:00 AM is not a buttoned-down gig and Boy of Girl’s ability to go with the flow and look fantastic doing it (despite some minor sound issues) earns this young band some extra points. With some great mentions already in NME and The Guardian, Boy of Girl could be one to watch.
