Lovers of indie, makers of mayhem: Mark
your calendars and rehearse your heckling skills. You’ll want
to be prepared for Oct. 5, when "Girls vs. Boys: Battle
of the Indie Pop Bands" enters round three at Williamsburg’s
Trash Bar.
The Battle started when Marianne Pillsbury, front lady of battling
band The Marianne Pillsburys, hosted the first two contests at
Sin-e on the Lower East Side in June and August of 2005. Having
won the first round, the girls upset the boys again in round
two’s especially controversial fight, making the score to date
a stark 2-0.
"Girls vs. Boys," an "American Idol"-style
contest, pits three majority-female bands against three primarily
male bands, all of the indie pop-punk-rock genre. Local celebrity
music experts serve as blunt and loud-mouthed judges, and a local
comic serves as the riffing MC.
The $6 admission buys all that plus an hour of open bar, free
Tater Tots, ample trash talking and participation as part of
the event’s riled-up crowd.
"It’s going to be brutal," Pillsbury says of the imminent
battle, which will serve as a rematch for round two. The Aug.
17 battle hurdled out of control when the judges bashed one of
the Boys’ bands with some particularly searing comments.
According to Pillsbury, when Matt DeGroat, singer and guitar
player for The Oggs, suggested that the girls’ team had gotten
the judges to fix the contest, it was proposed that the winner
be decided in a sudden-death wrestling match. Before the wrestling
could commence in earnest, however, the judges announced an unorthodox
decision to declare the Girls as the overall winners, but to
award The Oggs – representing the Boys – second place behind
The Marianne Pillsburys.
As for DeGroat, Pillsbury says, "I’m sure he has some choice
things to say about it."
"I think there was a biased judge, and they changed the
rules at the last minute," DeGroat says. "The Pillsburys
are going to lose this time, and that will be followed by a wrestling
match, which they’ll lose, too."
The idea of "Girls vs. Boys" came to Pillsbury when
she became bored after years of playing random gigs in the New
York area with bands that were incompatible with her own.
"I took matters into my own hands and decided to start scheduling
things myself," Pillsbury says. "I have a background
in advertising, so having a great concept was important, and
I thought ’Girls vs. Boys’ would be a great concept to bring
people out."
Of course, it’s mostly about the music.
"I wanted to unearth some bands we would be compatible with.
It was really important that our bands’ fans cross-pollinate,"
explained Pillsbury. In particular, she wanted to find local
female-dominated bands.
"I didn’t know of enough girl bands out there getting exposure,"
says Pillsbury. "This genre is so male-dominated."
She estimates that 80 to 90 people showed up for the first two
shows.
"But this is Brooklyn, a whole new ball game," says
Pillsbury, who hails from Bay Ridge. Williamsburg, she believes,
could draw a larger crowd from both Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The event’s Oct. 5 lineup pits The Marianne Pillsburys, The Assault
and The Booty Olympics against The Oggs, The Inevitable Breakups
and Locksley. The VIP panel of judges will feature: GO Brooklyn
Editor Lisa J. Curtis; WolfBlock Law entertainment attorney Barry
Perlman; Senior Director of BMI Writer/Publisher Relations Samantha
Cox; and Chris Smith of www.brooklynrocks.com.
Comedian Liam McEneany, who has appeared on Comedy Central’s
Premium Blend and VH1’s Best Week Ever, will serve as the show’s
MC.
The third "Girls vs. Boys: Battle
of the Indie Pop Bands" takes place Oct. 5 at 8 pm at Trash
Bar (256 Grand St. at Roebling Steet in Williamsburg). Admission
is $6. For the latest details as "Girls vs. Boys" approaches,
check the event’s Web site, www.myspace.com/girlsvsboysNYC.
The open bar runs from 9 pm to 10 pm.
