9.18.2006

Vampire Hands at Wizard Island

In high school, everyone had friends in a band. Inherently, there's nothing too special about that. But it's another thing when you have friends in a band that's starting to get noticed. It automaticaly makes you feel cooler.

If you are ever in the Minneapolis area, check out the local music scene by taking in a Vampire Hands show. The following is excerpted from their recent write-up in the City Pages:

The first thing you need to know about Vampire Hands is that their name is awesome, if for no other reason than it forces people to strike their best Nosferatu pose. (No kidding, it's like Pavlov's dog. Try it.) The second is that bassist Chris Bierden sings with an English accent. And while that alone counts as strikes one, two, and three against a band, it's easy to forgive Bierden his linguistic trespasses. That's because he's seriously into the European psychedelic scene of the mid-'60s (as evidenced by Vampire Hands' debut EP, At Wizard Island: Too Punk to Fuck), and frankly there just aren't enough Can fans making music in this town. Second, Bierden's androgynous falsetto is so John-Lennon-creamy that it would be a crime if he didn't soften his Rs and lengthen his vowels. It's hypnotic, and it reminds us why royalty used to chill out to castrati choirs.