Show review: Bullied By Strings at Subterranean, 8/2

By Gene Wagendorf III

BBS @ SubT

I'm not much of a dancer. I don't mind it necessarily, but there has to be a perfect storm of excellent tunes and copious amounts of alcohol to really get me going. Every now and then there is a rare exception to that rule. Enter Bullied By Strings.

The local electro-dance duo's manic stage show was hot from the start, replete with vociferous percussion, sugary vocals and solid, throbbing beats. Kristen Rowland, the tandem's gold-sequined singer, is profoundly captivating on stage. During some numbers her vocals soar over the thumping, electronic gale force buzz to inject a giddy nonchalance her audience seems more than happy to anchor to. Her movements onstage run the gamut from Karen O burlesque to Dave Chappelle-ian robot shtick. Oh, and then she breaks out a flute and pipes away until you forget that the instrument isn't exactly a staple of booty-shaking pop.

Everything is held together by Gabriel Rowland, a wolverine of a drummer skilled enough to dismantle and reassemble the tunes in front of the audience without ever drifting into undanceable territory. All of this came together during a song that began with Gabriel fluttering over congas behind a synth pulse while Kristen told secrets into the microphone. Eventually the number Jiffy Popped into a dance party while the singer wailed on her flute.