As part of
the Nylon’s Magazine Tour, The Virgins performed at the Fine
Line Music Café on Friday the 13th. Also hitting the
stage that night were She Wants Revenge, Be Your Own Pet, and Switches.
The probably-not-so
Virgins, with their ‘60s vintage style, charming boy-next-door looks,
and charisma, hit the stage with hits like "Rich Girls" and "Public
Affair," which is now the song on my MySpace profile.
Their simple
beats and feel reminded me of the Beatles when I first heard them on
their MySpace page; but performing live,
Donald Cumming, lead singer for The Virgins, with his sly grin and focus
on getting the music inside the brains of all present, reminds me of
a cross between Jack White and Rivers Cuomo.
I’m sure
that there were some in attendance who had never heard these guys before, but some knew every song and lyric. Standing by the stage, next
to where they loaded the equipment and where the musicians got on, I
caught a glimpse of The Virgins backstage; they resembled a mini gang
from West Side Story, that stereotypical old-school New York
tough guy style and demeanor. My favorite in the band was Cumming, wearing
rolled up skinny jeans, a buttoned up shirt with sleeves rolled up,
high colorful striped socks, and some Huckleberry Finn suspenders, which
is all I had in my head every time I looked at him — but, god, was
he adorable.
Of course,
after their performance, I honestly lost all interest and just walked
back over to the bar, got a drink, met a very nice guy, and hung out
there, drinking, of course. Then I made my way to another bar, eventually
woke up the next morning hungover — still fully clothed, thank God — and went on a quest for strong Cuban coffee, during which I was
harshly reminded that I was no longer in Miami.