Ivy (& Gene), live at Union Square. San Francisco, CA. July 21st, 1995. by Aurore Bacmann. photos by Scott Zimmerman.

One year ago, Ivy was for me a green plant climbing on walls, crawling on the ground and progressively transforming the concrete of your house into a magnificent rain forest and invading your garden. Then, Ivy became a Sarah band. Intrigued, I bought one of their singles. It's only a few months ago that Ivy changed in status again and became that American group based in NYC, touring the US to promote their debut album Realistic that had brought their existence to my knowledge and somehow caught my attention. Ivy certainly is invading, since they not only made their way to my ears, but also managed to keep me away from my bed (I have an excuse, I'm on holiday) 3 times in 2 days!
Friday, July 21st, Ivy performed a free show sponsored by Live 105 radio at Union Square in San Francisco. After waiting seated in the dirt littered concrete, getting worked up about certain people in the audience, complaining that the guy standing right in front of me was too tall (a classic at concerts), I was finally able to see Ivy! They took the stage shortly after noon. Their performance consisted mainly in playing the songs off the album in the same way as on the album, neatly, never too loud, but pleasantly enough to distract you from your grim thoughts and worries. The guitars were nice and gentle, and Dominique Durand's soft singing - almost whispering - was there to smoothen every note that could have been too sharp. During their set, Ivy introduced a few new songs which made a very good impression on the first listen. But they also played their "hits", like "Get enough", "Shallow", and "Don't believe a word", their new single. Despite Ivy's good performance, the audience seemed not to enjoy the concert as much as I did - they were impatiently waiting for Gene to come on stage. It was a bit surprising to see their lack of enthusiasm for a group who had had good reviews in the music press, whose songs were rather regularly played on alternative radio stations and who have achieved a certain popularity throughout the indie world.
Although the reason for my presence at Union Square that day wasn't exactly Gene, I stayed for their set which contrasted interestingly with Ivy's. The singer, sort of James Dean meets Morrissey, tried to justify the reputation of his group as "best new Smiths of the year/month", a title periodically given by the New Musical Express or Melody Maker to guitar-bands with a singer who is semi-charismatic - or a bigmouth. Even though the singer for Gene is a good singer, supported by a group who played straight, also a good actor on stage (I remember how he drank from his bottle and then threw water into the public and commented that, well, it was only an accident...), even though the songs are good enough to deserve attention and the titles can remind of Morrissey's lyrics, the resemblance with the Smiths did not strike me. In fact, what struck me most during their concert was the sun beating painfully on my shoulder and making me fear the worst about the sunburn it would later turn into.
For those who'd missed Ivy at Union Square, it was still possible to see them a couple of hours later at Wherehouse Records on Powell St. There, they played for half an hour, but not exactly the same songs as earlier on; the atmosphere was friendly, Dominique often talking to the audience and asking them which songs they would like to hear. After the show, Ivy stayed a bit to complete the promotion of their album in San Francisco, and sign posters and album covers for some of the people who'd listened to that second performance of the day, quietly seated on the floor in the record store. But that day wasn't over for Ivy who still had to hurry to San Jose where they were playing yet again that night.
The following day Ivy were in Berkeley at Rasputin Records with their instruments and played their songs in front of me for the third time. The music was not much different from what I'd heard the day before, but the voice was stronger, as if it had gained confidence over the past performances. Although a show in a record store is certainly not the best thing as for the quality of the sound, the group did quite well and I don't wish I had stayed in bed instead of seeing them. Ivy three times in a row and I didn't get sick of their music! Now I'm waiting to hear studio versions of their new songs.

Downloadable photos from these gigs:
Dominique singing at Union Square. Same as above. (22k)
Dominique looking towards the ground at Union Square. (14k)
Dominique singing at Wherehouse Records. b&w (19k)
3/5ths of Ivy shown performing at Wherehouse Records. b&w (43k)
All of Ivy performing at Wherehouse Records. b&w (40k)
Posing for the Twee Kitten, one guitarist, singer and drummer of Ivy. (15k)
Singer of Gene. Same as above. (20k)