Sonic mayhem was in the air on a recent Saturday night at AS220, when local brother-and-sister duo Vulgarrity delivered a scorching set of material from their release If You Sing it, They Will Hum (Dog Hill Records). The band is comprised of Shawn Garrity on guitar, bass, drums, and vocals; and Tracy Garrity on bass, drums, and vocals. They shared this awesome bill with Infinite Children, Arma, and Glowkid.
AS220 is an unjuried visual art/performance space in downtown Providence. The place is set up with a bar and grill type of area on one side with the main performance space adjoining. The crowd that night was plenty and varied, with rock and roll lovers of all ages in attendance.
There was a bird there, too. But not a real bird, it was a wooden statue or figurine thing on the merchandise table, and somehow it made its way to the stage accompanied by another statue of what I can only describe as the dismembered upper torso and head of a Freddy Krueger like zombie or ghoul or something. The band’s apparent fondness for this Halloweeny type of kitsch was underscored with performances of songs like the Iggyish “Boogeyman”, and “Killer in the Back Seat”, a tune which is becoming one of my favorite vulgarity tracks.
The duo alternated their instrumental duties throughout their set, showcasing their versatility and demonstrating that it is possible to have an accomplished band with just two members. Effects pedal technology enabled Shawn to lay down his guitar over his drumming on a few tracks.
The fans loved it, with much dancing and banter throughout the set. Many of the fans seemed to know the lyrics to the songs, people were throwing poor “Freddy” around, and, as Tracy dryly remarked, there was some apparent sexual tension between the bird and the ghoul statues. I’ll just leave it at that. There was a totally good vibe during the set, and many digital cameras were deployed in the air for visual posterity.
Towards the end of the set, the duo busted out a blistering instrumental that would put most prog rock bands to shame. A good time, as they say, was had by all. Bravo, Vulgarrity!
I implore you to check this band out. - website - James Corcoran