Review: The Virgins at The Old Blue Last

When we told friends that we were going to see The Virgins at The Old Blue Last, the first response was ‘do they still play’? Well, they do! After a five year hiatus the New York band is back with a stunning new record, ‘Strike Gently’. Although they’ve become a bit older, the band members still know how to produce an energetic show.

The Old Blue Last was sold out quickly, which marks that The Virgins still have a proper fan base in London. However, the big question: why did the New Yorkers wait for so long to make a follow up record to their self-named debut. Singer Donald Cumming admits to Made In Shoreditch that he’s been “messing around” a bit too much. The band also swapped some of their members: guitarist Xan Aird and drummer John Eatherly are new. Their sound has become a bit calmer comparing to their debut, but The Virgins wouldn’t be The Virgins if you couldn’t dance to their songs anymore.

So that’s what happened at The Old Blue Last on Tuesday evening, June 20th. The band members, dressed up in Hawaii eighties shirts, opened with their energetic new song ‘Prima Materia’, which immediately created a good atmosphere in the pub. After playing some more up-tempo tunes from ‘Strike Gently’ the New Yorkers thought it was time for some older ones. Although the audience seemed to really be into the new tracks, the classics did the final work. The peak on their show was ‘Rich Girls’, obviously the song everyone was waiting for, and we saw the dance floor change into a mosh pit.

It must be said that The Virgins are at their best on the rapid, energetic songs. During the second half of the show the New Yorkers played a lot of slower tunes from the new album, and at some point their sound became a bit monotonous. Although they still played well and Cumming’s vocals were as unique as always, you couldn’t help but think getting a little bored.

But when you least expected it, the band suddenly striked back with their classic ‘Fernando Pando’ and completely won back the audience. Once again, The Virgins are at their best during their up-tempo tracks. Although Cumming is now a married 31-year old man, The Virgins are still cooler-than-cool. They know how to pull off Hawaiian shirts and more importantly: they still have the right recipe for writing good songs and entertaining an audience. Next month they will already start recording on their third album, so let’s hope that we can welcome a new ‘Rich Girls’.