Get Your Fun in this Trashy World

A boy/girl duo from Denmark took the stage at Neumos in Seattle on Friday, November 6, 2009. Sune Rose Wagner; a towering stage presence mixed with little boy adorableness with just a splash of old fashioned rock star sexy. To his right stood a six-foot-tall, blonde-haired perfection named Sharin Foo; dressed in head-to-toe black, her soft-spoken sexiness exuded off stage. She's enough to make any straight girl question their sexuality, as proven by our concert newbie friend who came with us to the show. They strapped on their guitars and with the first chord of their opening song "Gone Forever", shivers went racing down my spine.

This is a band who tackles heavy songwriting material such as rape, suicide, drugs, and jail time; but they do so in a sweet and soothing way that when the lyrics "my girl is a little animal, she always wants to fuck" or "everytime you overdose, i rush to intensive care" come cooing from your speakers; it's hard not to be surprised at the ingenious of it all.

Lucyfer and I have been turned on to The Raveonettes for some time now and when they had to cancel their Austin City Limits show and artist signing at the last minute due to members of their crew unable to get their passports in time, we were seriously depressed. However, this show in Seattle definitely made up for it.

The Raveonettes took the stage at 10:15, after San Diego based opening band 'The Crocodiles', who were very entertaining and not to mention pretty attractive (but that's for another time.) Their set list included a good majority of the new album like "Last Dance", "D.R.U.G.S", and "Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)" which was dedicated to The Gits front-woman Mia Zapata who was brutally raped and murdered in 1993 in Seattle while walking home one night. They didn't forget about their early material either though, playing songs like "Love In a Trashcan' and 'Do You Believe Her' (which had a spectacular light show complete with strobes, which almost sent Lucyfer and I into a seizure.) They even switched up their instruments; picking up the tamborine for a couple songs and Sharin debuting her pretty impressive skills on the drums.

All in all, The Raveonettes did not disappoint. Their new songs sounded amazing live but Lucyfer and I were still in for a treat. While buying our merchandise (a vinyl copy of 'In and Out of Control' and a set of Sune and Sharin mugs for me; and mugs, stickers, and buttons for Lucyfer) we were told that they would be signing merch in an upstairs room at the venue. We headed upstairs with our merch and waited for the meet and greet to start. When Sune and Sharin finally arrived; there were only around 20 people there, which was definitely surprising! Sune and Sharin were charming, gracious, and super-friendly. They made sure everyone got an autograph, picture, or a hug. Even I'm not immune to being star-struck, especially in the presence of musicians that I listen to on a daily basis, so I did miss out on a couple great conversations with Sune when he sat down next to me to sign my vinyl. Lucyfer, on the other hand, had manage to talk with Sune about the ACL cancellation and with Sharin about the fact that this was her first Raveonettes show. Well done, Lucyfer, we don't call her "ballsy" for no reason.

We left Neumos that night on a rock 'n' roll and vodka high, tingling from the pure and unadulterated fun we just had and eager for our next adventure.