Black and Blue

Checked out Von Iva at Red Devil Lounge last night, and they "rocked my box," to borrow a phrase from this hot Asian boy next to me who wanted to molest the vast amount of straight men at the show.

I have some pretty firm rules about concert-going, because I'm just the type that sets up arbitrary guidelines for myself. I know — I'm super-weird. But just as strong as my desperate need not to let more than 24 hours pass between showers, I won't pay to see an artist more than once. (Unless it's Bowie, but then, there's an exception to every rule.) But, I justify myself by thinking that it's not fair to pour all my funds into one artist, that there's so many still to see. Maybe this is just because I'm constantly trying to find new bands on the scene.

Anyway, I've seen Von Iva before when I chatted with them for The Owl just a couple months ago, and I totally loved them. But the girlfriend got too drunk to remember them that time, so I was persuaded to check them out again.

I'm glad I went, because The Bruises opened, and this high energy band falls somewhere between the hiatusing queercore band The Butchies, and the hyper-pop Letters to Cleo (you know, that band that performed on the roof of Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles' high school in 10 Things I Hate About You). They have an album coming out really soon, and this one, titled Connected, has a bit of polish, and a lot more of a pop punk sound than previous acoustic efforts. In the meantime check out their live show, which will leave you with a smile on your face. I'll close this with words that they always do: Hot damn.

-Bernadette