live @ Black Cat 10.22.2000
Bettie Serveert lead singer Carol Van Dyk took singing lessons last year, which may partially account for the band departing from their scruffy indie rock approach for a dreamier, vocal-heavy sound on its new album. At the Black Cat Saturday night, the Dutch quartet struck an agreeable balance between old and new, mixing loud guitars with Van Dyk’s floating singing.
Van Dyk proved a charismatic frontwoman as the band charged into the new “Private Suit” and “Ray Ray Rain”, which turned on guitarist Peter Visser’s alternately charging and rippling patterns, recalling the masterful support playing of Television’s Richard Lloyd. The Betties peaked with “Tomboy” , “Satisfied” and when they turned “Unsound” ---perhaps the best song on their new album--from a slinky dream recollection into a howling raveup by tune’s end.
The group didn’t reach an equivalent intensity for the remainder of the show, despite a fine version of “Kid’s Allright”, the new “John Darmy” and a decent pass at the Velvet Underground’s “What Goes On”. The set’s second half drifted aimlessly, undone by too much new, languid material like “Cut and Dried” and a lack of guitar noise from Visser to balance it. Despite a lackluster finish, Bettie Serveert won the overall in a performance which was alot like the crowd that turned out to see them: modest, but infused with enough enthusiasm to make the evening worthwhile.
Arlington’s Alice Despard Group opened the show with a winningly low-key set that often recalled the trenchant trio rock of Yo La Tengo. Their pithy cover of Wire’s “Fragile” was good, but “Times Square Go-Go Boy” and several new, unrecorded songs were even better.
Washington Post, October 2000
