Dum Dum Girls Come Out To Play

Crocodiles/Dum Dum Girls
Detroit Bar
Costa Mesa
July 3



My first pleasant surprise was discovering the merchandise booth at the venue was offering vinyl albums as well as 7" singles from these bands, along with the obligatory CDs and T shirts.

The Crocodiles took the stage and pounded out their echo guitar driven songs including, "I Wanna Kill". Second surprise of the night was their energy and stage presence. The lead singer was in constant motion as was most of the band. Their performance Saturday revealed a slightly darker, goth-punk edge that is belied by their recorded shoegazey, pop sound. Had me happily reminiscing about 80s Darkwavers like Lords Of The New Church.


Dum Dum Girls Bassist Bambi

The Dum Dum Girls followed, their 60s girl group harmonies and distorted garage guitars filling the room. I was bummed that the melodic lead guitar was a bit buried sound mix. Lead singer Dee Dee whispered soft "thank yous" to the crowd in between rocking "Jail La La" (A free download here: Jail La La) and "Bhang Bhang". The band has a bit of early Bangles vibe with Dee Dee occasionally channeling Siouxsie.

Noticed that The Dum Dums cover and old Sonny And Cher song, "Baby Don't Go" on their record. Looking forward to their next release.


Lead Singer Dee Dee