words: Claire Fogarty
photos: Rachel Eisley
It seemed like every lesbian in the D.C. area came out for the Uh Huh Her concert at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday evening. Many were doubtlessly drawn to the concert because of the star power behind the band. UHH co-frontwoman Leisha Hailey, also known as bisexual journalist Alice Pieszecki on Showtime’s The L Word, has been deservedly described as “lesbian royalty.”
However, even if they just came to see “Alice,” everyone stayed for the music. Uh Huh Her (other half: the talented and cute Camila Grey), who describes their music as “indie electro-pop hybrid,” delivered an electrifying performance.
UHH took the stage a little after ten o’clock after a lackluster opening by Angie Mattson, whose performance was most notable for her glittery makeup.
UHH has a relatively limited repertoire of songs (they released their first EP, I See Red last July and have an album, Common Reaction, coming out on August 19) and most of their songs sound very similar. However, Leisha and Camila, backed by a male guitarist and drummer, performed each song with passion and conviction, while looking absolutely adorable.
Leisha and Camila shared a playful dynamic on stage that was fun to watch. They seemed like they were having a genuinely good time and did not take themselves too seriously – this was evidenced by the fact that Leisha was wearing one of her own band t-shirts, featuring a unicorn proclaiming its love for Uh Huh Her.
Leisha mentioned that they had become accustomed to playing “small, sweaty stages” on their current tour, and it was clear that they put the 9:30 Club in a class above that. They seemed impressed by the crowd’s vibrant energy in addition to the 9:30 venue.
Before playing their last song, Leisha suggested “Let’s get sexy” and invited the crowd to sing along to their song “Explode.” Although “Explode,” like the rest of UHH’s low-key songs, did not lend itself well to singing along, the crowd seemed to be very willing “get sexy” based on the number of cuddling couples on the floor.
UHH left the stage after Explode, but the persistent crowd was unwilling to let them go, so they took the stage for an encore. They played Mystery Lights, a bonus track from their EP, and someone had a lot of fun with strobe lights while the audience basked in Leisha and Camila’s goddess-like glow.
For the price of the $10 tickets, most of the crowd would have probably been content to simply admire Leisha on stage. The fact that the band delivered a solid, memorable show is a bonus.
unicorn shirts rule
May 16, 2008 at 2:20 pm