They were recommended by no less than Ruby of the Ruby Friedman Orchestra. When a world class singer like Ruby calls another singer great, that's high recommend indeed. So, off on a 60 mile trek to Fullerton, Calif. to see the tail end of a residency by FERAL KIZZY at the Continental Room.
My reaction? To quote Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, "I say goddamn!" as it was that much of a mind-blow-blast! (but without Mia's fateful repercussions.)
So much there to compliment! Singer Kizzy Kirk is fearless.
Peripatetically spending over half the set out amongst the audience, she flopped on strangers to carry her aloft, shanghaied pals to sing along on the dance floor, then swung precariously from the stage curtains, all while mini-skirted. None of a hardcore crowd's forced proactive dives here, her antics remain friendly but in your face.
She's been compared overall to Patti Smith which is balderdash. Her performing style is sui generis, emotive vocally as well as physically, somewhat closer to PJ Harvey-- inventive, athletic but strangely graceful. And that insistent yet sultry voice harkens back to young British punkers of the 1970s like Ari Up of The Slits or Poly Styrene of XRaySpex (in a slightly lower register.) To great effect, it's a modern, girlish voice atop that womanly physique.
Their quirky songwriting's sound is hard alt-rock while the lyrics are narrative like a junior Randy Newman, containing odd scanning choices, which I quite like as in "..we discovered that fighting and YELLing are two DIFFerent things..."
Great things surely must unfurl for this band Feral Kizzy. I'll give modern singing great Ruby Friedman the last word when informed I finally caught them live,"Woohooo! 'Told ya they rawked and rolled! Now you've been 'experienced' too!"
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