Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
March 2nd 2015, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Los Angeles-based punk rock quartet Barb Wire Dolls is a band with a story-and-a-half. Formed in Greece in 2010 but soon relocating to Los Angeles and being on stage around the world for an endless amount of time, Barb Wire Dolls gained widespread acclaim and after nearly five years of countless shows, they are coming full circle and back to their roots with a month-long Monday night residency at the Whisky-A-Go-Go this March. Fronted by Isis Queen on vocals and comprising Pyn Doll (guitar), JayJay Doll (bass) and Krash Doll (drums), they’ve played in Los Angeles several times, but for one reason or another, I was just never able to see them perform. The first show of their Whisky residency was the perfect opportunity for me to rectify that, and to finally experience a Barb Wire Dolls show firsthand.
There was an appreciable level of buzz surrounding this event, generated in part by Barb Wire Dolls themselves, as they were seen handing out flyers through the past weekend on the Sunset Strip. They showed that the old-school and hands-on methods of show promotion are still not only effective but also quite necessary, and mere online social media promotion isn’t anywhere near sufficient. As a result of their pre-show efforts, the turnout for show #1 of the residency was reasonably good for what would otherwise be a dead Monday night on the Strip. The crowd waited for the Barb Wire Dolls to begin their set, and there was no messing around from the band as they arrived on stage five minute before their scheduled and advertised 9 PM start time.
They played a 45-minute set, and song by song, strengthened their grip on the audience. The music, as expected, was nothing more than straightforward punk rock, but Barb Wire Dolls’ show is clearly as much about the attitude as it is about the music. All eyes and ears were on singer Isis Queen who owned the stage with an exemplary display of confidence and swagger. She succeeded in making eye contact with each and every person in attendance and was a figure of authority throughout the set. The amount of reverb on her microphone was considerably more than the norm for most singers that take this stage, and it helped resonate her voice to all corners of the Whisky. The audience gave Isis and her band mates a fitting response and the vibe at the Whisky was pleasant, except for the disturbingly large number of photographers crowding the front row. After all, just how many photos of the band do we really need?
Aside from that, to witness this excellently orchestrated and amazingly fronted throwback to good old-school punk rock was an entertaining experience. Attendees of this show will most certainly return to catch at least some of the remaining residency shows here, and those that haven’t yet seen Barb Wire Dolls are highly encouraged to do so.
Barb Wire Dolls links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram
Remaining residency shows at the Whisky:
3/9, 3/16, 3/23 and 3/30