It's true - goths really do love White Denim

Sandwiched between two bands dedicated to all things funereal - one local, goth noisebodies dressed in black and big-show jitters; the other, hyped shoegazers from New York - White Denim took to the stage of the Bottom of the Hill on February 29 as some sort of anti-death entity; a life giver among ulti-depressants; an anti-depressant, if you will. Oh, I will. For a garage band that rocks the '60s hard soul - and whose mustachioed guitarist/vocalist James Petralli is prone to wah wah faces as he plays - it didn't take long for the Austin, Texas, trio to pull every black wearer, whose makeup, outfits and hairstyles entailed every bit of an art project, under their spell. In fact, White Denim's second-slot set just about stole the show from headliners Holy Fuck - no shit. The bare bones guitar-bass-drums instrumentation and catchy but gritty sound - kinda like the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - may not break new ground. But White Denim boasts seeds of true rock 'n' roll spirit and a commanding live presence that breathes life into listeners. By the second song, the crowd was shouting "You got soul!" Songs unfurl in screaming punk energy, the soul-infused vocals strong and tending to linger, and the overall sound touched with just enough chaotic experimention (Petralli worked the fretboard in seemingly random ways at times) to fall into the indie realm rather than the spectrum of really impressive bar bands. With an egalitarian, working class air about them -the three guys constantly aimed the audience's eyes to the often overlooked bass player - and their funky post-punk taste of songs, White Denim also recall '80s SoCal pioneers The Minutemen. And now the band whose members so readily recognize one another are receiving oodles of outside attention, already creating quite the stir in their hometown and, having just completed their first ever stop in California, are ready to move on to other places. Many places. - peep these upcoming tour dates:

Mar 6 2008 8:00P	Terminal 5	New York, New York
Mar 12 2008 1:00P	SXSW	Austin, Texas
Mar 13 2008 1:00P	SXSW	Austin, Texas
Mar 14 2008 1:00P	SXSW	Austin, Texas
Mar 15 2008 1:00P	SXSW	Austin, Texas
Apr 1 2008 8:00P	The Buffalo Bar (Artrocker)	London
Apr 2 2008 8:00P	Scruffy Bird @ The Pleasure Unit	London
Apr 3 2008 8:00P	Dirty Boots @ Bloomsbury Bowling	London
Apr 4 2008 8:00P	The Barfly	London
Apr 7 2008 8:00P	La Maroquinerie	Paris
Apr 10 2008 8:00P	First Avenue	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Apr 11 2008 8:00P	Metro / Smart Bar	Chicago, Illinois
Apr 14 2008 8:00P	Opera House	Toronto, Ontario
Apr 15 2008 8:00P	Cabaret Music Hall	Montreal, Quebec
Apr 16 2008 8:00P	Higher Ground	South Burlington, Vermont
Apr 17 2008 8:00P	Paradise Rock Club	Boston, Massachusetts
Apr 18 2008 8:00P	Fillmore @ Irving Plaza	New York, New York
Apr 19 2008 8:00P	Music Hall of Williamsburg	Brooklyn, New York
Apr 22 2008 8:00P	First Unitarian Church	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Apr 23 2008 8:00P	9:30 Club	Washington DC, Washington DC
Apr 24 2008 8:00P	Local 506	Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Apr 25 2008 8:00P	The Earl	Atlanta, Georgia
Apr 26 2008 8:00P	Cafe Eleven	St. Augustine, Florida
Apr 28 2008 8:00P	The Social	Orlando, Florida
Apr 29 2008 8:00P	Common Grounds	Gainsville, Florida
Apr 30 2008 8:00P	Bottletree	Birmingham, Alabama
May 2 2008 8:00P	Antones	AUSTIN, Texas
May 3 2008 8:00P	Hailey’s	Denton, Texas
May 6 2008 8:00P	Club Congress	Tucson, Arizona
May 7 2008 8:00P	The Casbah	San Diego, California
May 8 2008 8:00P	Troubadour	Los Angeles, California
May 9 2008 8:00P	Troubadour	Los Angeles, California
May 10 2008 8:00P	The Fillmore	San Francisco, California
May 12 2008 8:00P	WOW Hall	Eugene, Oregon
May 13 2008 8:00P	Richards on Richards	Vancouver, British Columbia
May 14 2008 8:00P	Showbox	Seattle, Washington
May 16 2008 8:00P	In The Venue	Salt Lake City, Utah
May 17 2008 8:00P	Bluebird	Denver, Colorado

May 10, woot.