Music is my boyfriend

Dear friends,

Ventured out to Warsaw last night to see Cansei De Ser Sexy and Bonde Do Role. I had a ball despite the fact that I was carrying a purse that weighed about 20 pounds that prevented me from fully busting out the Solid Gold dance moves and that, in deference to my eternal migraine, I was refraining from the hooch.

Bonde Do Role, a three mc (one of them on dj duties) outfit with a seemingly endless sample clearing budget and some trashy dance moves, opened. They had a "rich kids doing coke for the first time and instead of having an orgy, deciding to rap-sing over their favorite songs" type of vibe. which meant we got treated to a little Kraftwerk, a little Alice in Chains*, a little Tone Loc via Van Halen and the piece de resistance, Europe. Yes, as in the freakin' Final Countdown. And leg humping. And blowsy stripper moves. And the grapevine! Wwhich is something I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of seeing at Warsaw.

Despite their attempts to engage the audience, the boys of the group seemed a bit generic. The lady however won me over with her win at all costs style. Clad in an unflattering pink satin boxing shorts/tank top combination, with tiny dark eyes, bleached blonde hair and woozy on the floor or bandmate's jock moves; she had the interesting effect of becoming more alluring the more you watched her perform. It wasn't the moves so much as her brassy, raspy delivery that was more punk than rap. She had a sloppy-seductive confidence that was entirely natural. Oh yeah and FUN.

Now, I was under the impression Cansei De Ser Sexy (oops, I'm sorry! that's CSS to the U.S. of A.) was gonna be some bratty girls and a drum machine. Nope. A full band of guitar shredding sullen girls, occasional drum machine, one guy on live drums, occasional instrument switching from most of them and a wildly charismatic lead singer named Lovefoxxx. She wasn't sullen in the least, maybe a little bratty but in a thoroughly charming, steal your heart sorta way. She ran around the stage looking like an eight year old leading a pep rally, taking off/putting her clothes back on, and jumping out into the crowd with big fat smile on her face. When her hair extensions fell off at one point, she laughed, yanked the rest of them out and used them as pom poms for the rest of the set. Classic.

CSS tore through each number with surprisingly polished ease for a band that supposedly just learned to play (ahem, according to their press), but still kept things breezy enough to insert Missy Elliott's Work It into one of their songs in cheekily brazen way that delighted the crowd. After that performance, if you somehow managed to resist their frontwoman's charisma and/or dismiss the band as some kind of electro fabrication, then you clearly have no soul.

Okay, that was a bit harsh. You might have a soul, but it doesn't dance. Ever.

Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above/CSS (video)



Love, D

Favorite Live Songs: Melo Do Tobaco*/Bonde Do Role, Music Is My Hot Hot Sex/CSS

UPDATE: other folks who went to the CSS/Bonde Do Role show and have things to say about it...

Fluxblog
Brooklyn Vegan
Music Snobbery
Yeti Don't Dance
Soundbites
Sucka Pants