Bowery Ballroom

showview

The Virgins

Lissy Trullie

Fri 12/12

Tickets

18+

Doors 8PM

$15

The Virgins

http://www.myspace.com/thevirginsnyc
http://www.thevirgins.net/virgins07/index.html
Together for barely a year, the Virgins have had the kind of out-of-the-ether rise that causes bloggers to gush and their peers to curse. Raised in New York, 25-year-old singer Donald Cumming left home at 15, dropped out of high school, and then stumbled into acting and modeling. He became a muse of photographer Ryan McGinley -- they met (where else?) at a party -- best known for his shots of carousing, naked twentysomethings. (McGinley's 2003 exhibit at the Whitney Museum included a snap of Cumming's naughty bits.) The Virgins emerged out of pure frustration. "No one would read any of my writing or poetry," Cumming says. "So I figured I could put it to music." After recording a demo, he burned 25 copies for pals, then recruited guitarist Wade Oates, bassist Nick Zarin-Ackerman, and drummer Erik Ratensperger. Atlantic Records signed the band before catching a single performance.

So they're lucky, well connected, and attractive, in that unwashed, just-got-home-at-5 A.M. sort of way. But are they any good? Definitely. The drowsy disco rock of "Rich Girls" and the slow-burning shuffle "Fernando Pando" (from their self-titled 2007 EP) offer vignettes that would make for a perfect Larry Clark movie -- stories of socialites, street urchins, drug binges, and sex romps -- all held together by Cumming's languid drawl. "Their lyrics are really poetic and very much about New York and the life that we live," says McGinley. Spin

Lissy Trullie

http://www.myspace.com/lizzytrullie
Lissy Trullie is an integral part of NYC's thriving downtown music scene and has received international acclaim for her soulful rock anthems and unique personal style. Her guitar-heavy pop songs contain an effortless confidence is rarely found in the music of today. Trullie's sound been compared to everyone from Nico to Wilco and stretches across musical boundaries with its catchy piano interludes and thick vocals that ring true like the folk songs of yesteryear. Her highly-anticipated debut EP, "Self Taught Learner," is out this spring on Off Bowery.