Olivia Jean

Cindy Wilson, Olivia Jean, and Battle Pussy at the Marquis Theater in Denver, CO on 11/16/17

Olivia Jean and Cindy Wilson
Strong women ruled at the Marquis Theater on Thursday night. Their powerful musical abilities and unique fashion styles were on full display. The crowd was small, but mighty as they soaked in the punk, rock, and pop sounds of the evening. It was very clear who in the crowd showed up for what act. The older patrons were there to see an icon of the ultimate party band The B-52's Cindy Wilson. Younger mostly bearded guys attended to see Third Man Records phenomenon Olivia Jean. The others showed up to participate in the shenanigans of local political punk rock trio Battle Pussy.

Battle Pussy - All photos by
The Rock and Roll Princess
The show started before the doors opened when Battle Pussy ran through the entrance and high-fived everyone in the line waiting to get into the venue. When the real show eventually started, gladiator helmet wearing Suzanne Slade lead the trio through songs titled Tweety Tweet, You're Fired, and No Trump. I got a strong sense these songs were not endorsed by the MAGA community. Two male dancers joined them on stage to add to the spectacle. The chorus boys stripped down to their underwear and proceeded a get audience members to jump rope while the band rapped Betty The Beat. The timely Standing Rock Tribe song Water Is Life was played with distain after Slade announced the news about the recent Keystone Pipeline leak in South Dakota. Battle Pussy ended their set with Revolution getting the audience to shout, "Fight, Fight, Fight" ensuring the band and the concert goers will not be on the White House Christmas card list anytime soon.

Olivia Jean
Third Man Records has been utilizing Olivia Jean's talents for a number of years. She led the all girl gothic garage group The Black Belles, played with Wanda Jackson, Karen Elson, and even Jack White (my lord and savior). Now she is a solo artist supporting Cindy Wilson's fall tour. She wore a 1960's inspired red floral dress with black boots and a hairstyle reminiscence of the style of The B-52's. Olivia Jean sang a number of songs from her Black Belles catalog such as Howl at the Moon, Not Tonight, and In a Cage. The songs blended nicely with her material from her 2014 solo album Bathtub Love Killings. Reminisce was one of the highlights with the dark lyrics, "Bye, now. You'd think she'd figure it out/Grab her wrist, and twist and shout/'Cause you can't find the reason why/These tears are falling from her eyes." Olivia Jean was thrilled to play her new song Garage Bat giving fans hope for a new album. Cindy Wilson joined the band for the final number The B-52's Hero Worship that got the crowd dancing with more joy than Battle Pussy's backup dancers.

Cindy Wilson
Cindy Wilson is a member of the influential New Wave band The B-52's. Free from the beehives and outrageous outfits of The B-52's, Wilson appeared with short gray hair and a understated black ensemble wearing dark sunglasses. Her songs from her forth-coming debut solo album Changes were inspired by her collaboration with fellow Athens, Georgia musician Ryan Monahan. The heavy electronica music had a dream like quality while multimedia imagery was displayed throughout the performance. Instead of screaming, "Tin Roof Rusted" from The B-52's The Love Shack days. Wilson toned down her legendary vocals to a refrained whisper while swaying to the music. In turn, her band brought high energy and passion throughout the performance.

See you at the next show. I'll be the one jumping rope in my 1960's inspired outfit.

Olivia Jean really gave a tough performance at Fingerprints in Long Beach on November 12. Her lyrical stabs and crystal eyes send shivers as she cries great tales of love's madness. But you won't find this girl blinded by her heart. Nope, she's following it full on and that's the good news--she puts everything she's got into those minor key harmonies and its easy to get high on her wave. Nice album, nice friendly person at after-show product signing. Very genuine and can't help but dig all the style.

Amazing vocals with great energy and synergy from the drums and guitars. Olivia Jean is a group to watch as they continue to draw crowds. Thanks for an incredible show!!

Off OLIVIA JEAN, Night Owl...available now...were The Hunt, Night Owl and Brushfire...at the top of my favorites to enjoy live.

Please keep the great music coming!