Austin – Bitches. It’s quite the band name; it provokes a certain sort of reaction, certainly different from what it would be had the band names themselves Flowers, or Puppies. Singer/bassist Blake Ivinson was well aware of this, noting after one audeince member shouted “I love Bitches!” that he was compiling a tape of similar exclamations during shows to play for his mother, who he imagined would be thinking, “What are you doing with your life?”
The band played a fun sort of noise-punk that sounded pretty good, but it was Ivinson’s stage banter that truly made the show. He had a wry, sardonic, dry sort of humour, discussing things such as how their song “Fly Away Home” was inspired by the fact that he thought the message of the Anna Paquin film of the same name was a bit silly. He also commented on how as a kid he was good at the egg and spoon race and the three legged race (ie. he’s not terribly athletic), and mentioned how unhappy he was that the Olympics were coming to London this year, adding, “I suppose it’s a bit like SXSW…” He did make sure to point out though, that playing rock songs is at least better than sports, but it was an astute commentary on how I’m sure many Austinites feel about the annual influx of music industry folk into their city.
Ivinson also took time near the end of their set to trash the sponsors a bit because they couldn’t put up a banner lest it block the ad banner already onstage. “We made it ourselves, what has Pepsi ever made?” he quipped. “I still drink it though,” added drummer Stacy Owen, who often chimed in with additional comments throughout their set. If Ivinson ever decided to set the bass aside and branch out into stand up comedy, I’d consider checking that out as well … as long as he found a way to still keep Owen and her drumkit onstage.
