Girl In a Coma at El Corazon a Standout for All Ages

Arriving late to the party as usual, we were amused to find Seth Green’s twin brother – smarmy look and gleaming white  flat-brimmed baseball cap and all – at the door to wave us in. Perhaps the guest list policy is looser down in the Cascade ‘hood compared to places on Pike/Pine or Madison, because Mister Disaffected Son of Dr. Evil barely looked up from his Blackberry to let us in to El Corazon on a quiet Wednesday night.

The women of Girl in a Coma were already a few songs into their set, and were settling into their groove at 10:30. The crowd? Possibly plucked at random from a group of shoppers at nearby REI: lots of late-teens, an rocker couple in the mid-30s, some parents (chaperones, surely) and even some pre-teens bopping to the rock of this San Antonio trio. Nearly all the kids were jumping, twitching, shaking their thang in approximate time while lead singer Nina maintained command of the room onstage. (It was more than just the Red Bull energizing them, I am certain.) I was taken immediately by her poise: all at once asserting control with her microphone and guitar but also anxiously taking in the room, her eyes wide and darting from left to right behind stringy, sweaty locks.
“How does someone seemingly so young sing so passionately about… well.. anything?” I thought. Get the album and you’ll find that her voice and poetry belies her age. I don’t want to get hung up on the age thing, but instead flip it into a compliment. Though much younger than me, these three women have confident command of their artistry and it bodes well for fans like me who are late to the game. They aren’t going to disappear into the pop music ether. With their second LP planned for release in the next year, and a spot on Tegan and Sara’s fall tour, I expect GIAC to return to our city with many more fans anticipating their arrival. I don’t wanna blather on about her vocal style or they way she carries her guitar what kind of bass Jenn plays, so check out their videos at the Blackheart Records’ Youtube site.

If you’ve rocked the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hammerbox, Joan Jett or even Social D, they will be a fresh update to your collection. They don’t ape the sounds of these comparative rock elders, but jump off from it and stamp it as their own with a distinct Texas flavor. The LP “Both Before I’m Gone” is available at all your favorite online music retailers. Amazon and iTunes have the download for $6.

Drummer Phanie has a series of video blogs up on her site on the YouTubes. Episode 4 even features a cameo from Oasis.  The excellent video for “Say”, which has been rattling around my head all week, is here.