Scenestar

ARTICLE BY KATIE SEATON
PHOTO BY SAMIR LJUMA

SEPT. 24 | LOS ANGELES—To those who attended tonight’s Brazilian Girls show with The Submarines, if you were left feeling seduced by the two leading ladies, don’t worry—you weren’t alone. The intrigue began with a beautiful set by The Submarines. All freeway traffic and parking/gas prices taken into account, there was absolutely nothing that could keep my lips from smiling the moment Blake Hazard opened her mouth to sing “Swimming Pool;” love was in the air.

Everything on stage appeared exactly as I’d expected: happy and joyous. Hazard’s xylophone was covered in daisies, and the instruments and mics were placed close together, so Hazard and husband/guitarist John Dragonetti didn’t have to be too far apart. Not even the depressing lyrics of “Brighter Discontent” could keep the audience from rocking happily back and forth. “Peace and Hate” was the only other track from first album Declare A New State! on the set list, which was comprised mostly of songs from new album Honeysuckle Weeks.

Hazard has a very genuine and refreshing quality, which also describes her voice, although tonight her vocal cords were strained, and she explained between songs that she was losing her voice. “Thorny Thicket” and “Submarine Symphonika” demonstrated her squeaky-clean vocals, while the lyrics brought out the love-fest in everybody. “1940” finished strongly in the way of percussion and led into the indie hit—and recent soundtrack to an Apple commercial—“You, Me, & the Bourgeoisie.” The set closed with “Xavia,” a beautifully dramatic performance with collaborative vocals between Hazard and Dragonetti.

With the good mood established, the seduction began when the lights got dark again. The recording of a female opera singer played as the two male members of the Brazilian Girls—drummer Aaron Johnston and keyboardist Didi Gutman—walked on stage, trying (and failing) to be inconspicuous. It felt like a long while before Sabina Sciubba emerged from the black abyss and floated to the mic, wearing a getup that was on a Bjork-level of crazy: a white spandex suit (delicately covered by a sheet-sized veil) with a giant red heart on the stomach representing—I assume—the baby growing inside her rounded belly.

Goosebumps arose on my arms as she sang “Strange Boy,” a perfect track to show off Sciubba’s seductive vocals and composure. The song finished by picking up the pace with quick percussion, and this slow-to-fast pace change foreshadowed the show that followed. The Girls blew straight into the dance-provoking track “Jique” (recently remixed by MSTRKRFT), slamming a whole new vibe onto the packed crowd. Dancing of all sorts broke out, and suddenly I felt like I was attending an acid-test from the Ken Kesey/Merry Prankster days. Sciubba entertainingly glided around the stage in her all-white attire, flailing her arms while singing “you know I really, really like you.” It was all I could do to oafishly sit and stare. The vibe slowed down for “Internacional,” and during the slow moments, one couldn’t help but be awestruck by the exotic voice and the heavy words—sung in one of the five languages Sciubba is fluent in.

I was most amazed by the Girls’ ability to move their audience from one state of fantasy to the next. The first half-hour felt like a bizarre dance rave—I longed for a glow stick and a strobe light. “St. Petersburg” chased away the rave-nightclub environment and replaced it with Congo-like drums and the feeling of a humid, African jungle. Then “L’interprete” (the first song of the encore) soothed me into a tranquil state with its smooth vocals and the slow-motion video of bowing Japanese geishas on screen. “Good Times” brought the feeling of a true pop concert to life, reminding me slightly of Santogold’s “L.E.S. Artistes” with its delicately played drums. In less than two hours, my brain was fooled into thinking it had been to the best rave of the ’60s, traveled to the tropics, been wowed by a well-oiled pop show and seduced by a mysterious, foreign goddess. The popular and unforgettable “Pussy” closed the performance, creating an emphatically loud reaction among the Girls’ loyal fans. I walked out in a daze of satisfaction and enthusiasm—filled with good music and exotic memories to look back upon as well as anticipation for the next chance to see them live.