Kurt Cobain named his only child Frances Bean Cobain. That name Frances was in honor of one of Cobain's biggest musical influences, Frances McKee of The Vaselines. The Scottish indie pop band formed in 1986, and by the end of 1989, their songwriting days were over. But the 2 EPs and 1 album they recorded left a strong impact on a lot of musicians that followed, especially Cobain. Not only did Cobain name his daughter after Frances McKee, but Nirvana also recorded 3 Vaselines covers during their also short-lived time as a band. "Son of a Gun" and "Molly's Lips" were two of the finest moments on 1992's rarities collection Incesticide, while "Jesus Don't Want Me For A Sunbeam" was one of the many covers played at their incredible MTV Unplugged performance.Kurt Cobain didn't just leave his mark on every teenager of the 90s as an incredible songwriter, but he also introduced us to the underground musicians he loves like The Vaselines, Meat Puppets, and Daniel Johnston. Like a lot of people, Nirvana was my introduction to The Vaselines. "Son of a Gun" was one of my absolute favorite Nirvana songs, and then I found out it was a Vaselines cover and had to check them out. What I discovered was a really great pop band, with perfectly executed male/female vocals. And despite a very limited discography, The Vaselines wrote quite a few excellent songs.
On Sunday night at Bowery Ballroom, The Vaselines essentially played every song they ever wrote, including 2 new songs that sounded like they could have been written back in the late 80s along with the others. Opening the set with the energetically cheerful "Son of a Gun," they made it clear that they still had it after all these years. With reunion concerts it's very difficult to be anything but skeptical as a fan, especially with a band who has barely played together in almost 20 years. A couple songs later, a broken bike horn did little to subtract from the quirky poppy excellence of "Molly's Lips." Throughout the set the playful stage banter of Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee added an extra element of fun to the night. It's rare to see such a genuinely clever dialogue on stage anymore.
Their set lasted a little over an hour, before they were cheered back onto stage for an encore, which included the night's highlight "You Think You're A Man," which McKee and Kelly jokes as being their disco song. Midway through, while Bell & Sebastian's Stevie Jackson ripped through the memorable guitar riff, the house disco ball made its appearance for the night, getting a chuckle out of McKee.
It was great to see The Vaselines in such good form, and with the introduction of two strong new songs, we can look forward to the prospects of some new recordings as well, to go along with Sub Pop's recent release of Vaselines anthology, The Way of The Vaselines: A Complete History.
Under-appreciated local band Woods opened for The Vaselines and really made the most out of the opportunity to play in front of the crowded room. Their occasionally jammy pop instantly revealed them as one of the scene's best kept secrets. Often playing the DIY venues, their sound really prospered in Bowery Ballroom's greater acoustic and sound system. NYC's DIY venues have many qualities that make them great for shows, but sound has never been one of them, and when you have the opportunity to see a Market Hotel or Death By Audio regular in a venue with legitimate sound, it can show you how little justice those venues can do for the sound of the bands that play there.
Tonight, The Vaselines play a sold show at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg with Adam Green as their opener.
