Dead Chicks Rock, Or Something.
Nicki Jaine and Sky (of Torn Paper Dolls) @CB's Gallery, NYC 02/24/03
By Prof. Vile
So, here I am, stranded in NYC, with no three dollar bills, a check that cannot be cashed, a whole heap of shit that I have already received payment (dope) to write and nothing in my mind.
Ain't it great to be alive?
Last night, I watched a show at CB's Gallery. Gothic alchemy night or some such thing.The mood of the club was somber and quiet, but what the hell would one expect from a bunch of Goths? Upon entering the club, I noticed a grey cat curled up into a ball on a couch situated by the entrance, and it managed to sleep through all the commotion going on around it. In fact, nothing chilled harder than that cat. It just rested there and tuned out everything around it, kind of like I usually do whenever I go out to a show at CB's Gallery. Regardless of any similarities to my own lifestyle, I liked the cat immediately and decided to sit next to it for that reason. It was on the level.
After Midnight Syndicate's set (which I, for the life of me, cannot remember.my fault. Not theirs), I caught Nicki Jaine (spell check hates her last name) and Sky (whom spell check adores), a Philadelphia-based duo that comprises the band Torn Paper Dolls, that really only falls into the gothic scene by default. (I learned the hard way that dressing in black and holding a musical instrument onstage allows for the gothic borg to claim you, like a monochromatic blob, before you strum your first chord). Regardless of what genre labels that you may feel some obsessive need to place on your entertainers, these two young women weave a musical tapestry that is as humorous in theme as it is dark in presentation. Each of their tunes feature skewed but catchy melodies, distinctive lead vocals provided by Jaine (whose dramatic performance makes her appear as an possessed corpse, dead from starvation and shrouded in violet light, no less), and background harmonies courtesy of Sky (the more proficient keyboardist of the two, which is actually saying quite a bit, seeing as both performers maintain an even level of observable talent).
The well-received set began with "A Pigeon Named Crow," whose disturbing tones bring to mind early Birthday Party/Nick Cave, with Ms. Jaine's striking vocals complementing the rich piano/guitar arrangement quite nicely. After the first few bars many audience members strained to see if that deep, deranged-sounding voice was indeed coming out of this stick figure of a girl. Sky's impressive ivory (well.plastic) striking made a cool and creepy bed to rest Nicki Jaine's guitar upon in dreamlike way that was by turns whimsical and disturbing. Jaine's lyrics and the performers' image walk crooked miles between whimsy and terror, as well, like a hallucinatory vision out of Fritz Lang's wet dreams.
The second tune, "Animals Crawling," swung a bit as it offered up some amusingly surreal lyrics, but "A Voice" (Which actually features both voices) really showed off a nice vocal interplay between Jaine's clean basso emissions and Sky's cooler harmonic complement. Switching instruments with no apparent signs of effort (or any immense changes in overall sound), "A Voice," a jaded, yet infectiously catchy, paean to paranoid, nihilistic angst, features Nicki on the keys and Sky on bass guitar.
"Fireflies and Razorblades" turns gender stereotypes inside out with vocal harmonics drifting over the keyboard's clean arpeggios. "One More Show" I remember as being a really cool tune with a strong melody, but I found myself totally wasted by this point (my boss kept feeding me beer and Bacardi), so I will not say much more than it seemed to have a bluesier, at points almost psychedelic, edge. Unfortunately, I had consumed about twice my weight in alcohol (and burned a forest of reefer on the walk down from midtown). From here on in, this review becomes very highly subjective, and I claim no responsibility for any journalistic inaccuracies.
For instance, at about this point in the show, Jaine's guitar
sound seemed to go a bit haywire.something, like some kind of fuzzy effect affected the overall mix and wound up detracting from the strength of the musical atmosphere. The next song, "Antarctica" has lyrics so amusingly humorous that even the tone of utter dread in which the vocals delivered them could not cover up the fact.See, I have this thing about penguins and seals.I'm fucked up.and Jaine sung about penguins in the song.but this song crossed over into sonic territory that was actually too disturbing for some of CB's patrons.
"This is the most depressing thing I have ever heard." Opined this weary looking old chick sitting next to me, and although this woman may have been one of the more depressing things I have ever seen, I almost had to agree with her.even if only for the fact that the last thing I want to think about in this city of snow piles is fucking Antarctica!
"Octopi" suffered from the same bad soundboard mix and thin guitar tones as "Antarctica," so any chance of describing the song accurately would be tainted by this fact. "She is the Madman," the set's finale, came closest out of any of the song's to having a traditional gothic sound; with clean piano tones giving way to a heavier synth sound, and very strong guitar/keyboard interaction.
Then, the most disturbing thing of the evening occurred when Jaine inexplicably referred Professor RealiZm and myself as gentlemen. That was the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard in my life! Any and all credibility that Nicki Jaine had with me went right out the window at about that point, but I still dig her music. Feeling sick inside at the very thought of that horrible "G" word being applied to the wreck that is me, I began to wonder where that chilling cat was.it had six toes on its right front paw (Nicki and Sky discovered that one, thanks guys!).the cat could hang.
For those of you who skip to these last paragraphs for a capsule review because you are an impatient crackbaby, Nicki Jaine and Sky's set was often unconventionally pretty, sometimes slightly disturbing, and, even at worst, still highly intriguing. The two talented multi-instrumentalists create unsettling and original music that does not fit with ease into any scene, and I love 'em for it.though some would file the sound under the Gothic genre, it appears to me that something fresher continues to brew, here. If they begin to scatter the slower, atmosphere based numbers among the more concise rhythm and melody driven material that began the set, and keep on the soundman's ass about the guitar's levels whenever effects are introduced, then all I could do is praise them.
Nicki Jaine and Sky were very excited to announce that they have added Zach Russell as a drummer and taken on "Torn Paper Dolls" as a band name. The full band is set to play CBGB's proper on March 22, 2003. As intriguing as the duo was, one imagines that they will benefit exponentially from the addition of a percussionist. And I have to offer them undying admiration for not copping out and using a drum machine before the addition of Mr Russell. There's a certain class about percussion-less musical outfits saying "Fuck the drums" and playing out, anyway. Keep an eye out for Torn Paper Dolls and if you have time to kill on March 22, come on out to CBGB's (not the gallery), and you can sit there and look half-dead with me as Torn Paper Dolls makes its NYC debut. If nothing else, Professor RealiZm could sure use the help scraping me off the floor at the end of the night.
AAAAARRRRRGH!!!!
Bad Vibrations Zine
March 2003