Girls were great

It’s hard to write about San Francisco indie surf rock/shoegaze band Girls without mentioning the sordid past of frontman Christopher Owens. Raised in the radical Children of God cult, Owens was forbidden from listening to popular music. He escaped the cult as a teenager, moved to San Francisco and took pretty much every drug imaginable. Girls’ debut album, aptly titled Album, dropped in September to rave reviews, and was rated as the No. 10 album of 2009 by Pitchfork Media, who gave it a 9.1 out of 10.

Owens and his longhaired, tattooed bandmates (Chet “JR” White, John Anderson, and Garett Godard) played a packed show at One Eyed Jacks as part of their tour with openers The Smith Westerns and The Magic Kids.

Both openers got the crowd excited for the main act, playing sets full of psychedelic guitar and breathy vocals. The Magic Kids’ final number had the lead singer — who was rocking the highest-waisted jeans I’ve ever seen on a man — step into the audience to serenade members of the crowd.

Around midnight, Girls finally took the stage to riotous applause. Owens’ vocal talents were evident from the start as he launched into “Laura,” a plea for forgiveness from an ex-girlfriend. The guitars jangled and the background harmonies went “ooh-la-la” over the course of the set, reminiscent of Buddy Holly or The Beach Boys, just lonelier. Quieter songs such as “Ghost Mouth” and “Headache” mellowed out the crowd, while more upbeat tunes such as “Morning Light” and “Big Bad Mean Mother Fucker” brought pounding drums and face-melting guitar riffs. The epic seven-minute “Hellhole Ratrace” was a triumph, from the plaintive opening lines to the rollicking solo at the end of the song. They finished their main set with crowd favorite “Lust For Life” before returning to play a sparse, sweet cover of “All I Have To Do is Dream,” followed by two new songs.

All in all, Girls lived up to their hype and put on exactly the type of performance you would expect from a California surf rock band: chock full of nostalgia, classic rock guitar and summer romance. If they’re ever back in town, be sure to check them out.