Well, here’s a first for me. I thought I knew all the venues in Edinburgh, but here we are at The Bongo Club in the Cowgate. I must have ed it literally thousands of times over the years and never noticed it. But I’m here tonight and inside for L.A. band Death Valley Girls – though first up, we have German outfit Bella and the Bizarre, fronted by Bella Khan, daughter of King Khan.
The band have been described as soulful garage punk, and I think that’s spot on. They’ve got that ’60s soulful groove with a hint of The Stooges, The Doors, and Jefferson Airplane. They released their self-titled debut album last year, and we get a few tracks from it tonight.
“No Need” is a real garage rocker, full of tasty guitar work and great, soulful vocals from Bella. There’s the harder-hitting “No More” with a definite nod to The Stooges – this one really bounces along. “Inky Waters” slows things down with a smooth vibe, punctuated by punchy drums and guitar, and elevated, expressive vocals. Then there’s “Delusions”, their 2022 single, which has an upbeat feel in the faster sections that really hits the spot.
I really enjoyed the band tonight. There was a great vibe from them and the audience, who were clearly here for a good time – and a bit of a dance, thanks to the infectious groove from the band. If you get the chance to see them, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
If you like what we do, consider ing us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
Now for the main event, as Death Valley Girls stroll on stage. They’ve been described as doom-boogie, psych-pop/rock – and that kind of fits. Bailey on drums gets the groove going as they launch into “Abre Camino” from their 2018 album Darkness Rains, with Bonnie Bloomgarden delivering almost Siouxsie Sioux-style vocals. The whole band are grooving and casting a musical spell over the audience – everyone’s moving to the beat. You could feel it in the air. What a start.
We get a few tracks from their Islands in the Sky album, including one of my favourites, the title track. It’s got such a fantastic groove you can’t help but move to it, and Bonnie’s voice is so ethereal. Loving the sax playing from Sarah – I do love a bit of brass in a band.
The equally groove-laden “Magic Power” has a vibe all its own, driven by Bonnie’s keyboard work and vocals. The band are completely in sync, like a single musical force – they’re on fire.
Another highlight for me was their killer cover of Link Wray’s “Fire and Brimstone” – you just want to dance to it, and plenty of the crowd were doing just that. The chorus sections really hit hard.
They play a great cross-section of tracks from all their albums tonight. Even some ghostly goings-on with Bonnie’s vocals in a certain part of the stage didn’t derail what turned out to be one of my gigs of the year. This is a band having a blast, playing songs that make you want to move and dance. I can’t quite put my finger on it – there was just a magical atmosphere in the room tonight that I haven’t felt at a gig in a long time. It wrapped itself around you and said: let’s dance, let’s move, and let’s have a great time.
And we did. Truly sad when the set finished. Hurry back, girls – I’m already missing Death Valley Girls.
Don’t fancy Patreon? Buy us a one-off beverage!
Photos by Coops Gig Photography
