It’s been a long winter in Cincinnati, with something of a drought of shows (or, at least, shows I’ve been interested in). The last time I left the warmth and comfort of my home to brave Cincinnati’s cold streets and sweaty clubs to see live music was Girl Talk’s show in January. However, now that we’re in April, the time had come to get off the couch and back out to see some shows.

Anyway, a bill at the Southgate House featuring both Black Lips and Vivian Girls was just too damn great to pass up. And obviously, going into a concert with two such hyped and often marginalized groups brought its own set of preconceptions. Vivian Girls would bop in place and sing jangly abstract songs about love, while the Black Lips would barely finish their set before erupting into a ramshackle mess of vomit and possible nudity.

Neither turned out to be true, and both bands ended up being pleasantly surprising.

The years since Vivian Girls last record has seen them grow by leaps in bounds in terms of musicianship and performance. Far from basement lo-fi rockers, the Girls focused on vocal harmonies, slashing guitar, pumping drums, and sexily meandering bass lines. Their professional, powerful sound brought new life to some cuts from their web-hyped debut album, while allowing a few songs from their latest, Share the Joy, a bit breathing room. On a couple numbers, the band settled into extended instrumental interludes while guitarist Cassie Ramone pulled out full-fledged guitar solos, bringing the lo-fi punk sound of Vivian Girls dangerously close to prog rock. For most this time, however, Ramone was crouched next to or behind new drummer Fiona Campbell’s kit. Whether it was an effort to keep on the beat or focus on the tones coming from her amp, it seemed that Vivian Girls still need time to build confidence with their expanding sound. The important thing is that they are expanding.

For their part, Black Lips kept their set tight and professional. They played with loads of energy, but still managed to keep their songs clear and defined. When they broke into more well-known songs, like the subject for their recent Vivian Girls-featuring boat-themed video, “Go Out and Get it!,” the crowd exploded in response to the ultra-distilled hooks and power of their souped-up garage rock.

By the end of the show, the crowd was exploding at most of the songs, leading to crowd-surfing, encroachments onto the stage, and resulting booting by stage bouncers back into the pulsating audience. The Black Keys responded in kind, spitting and throwing beer into the audience, sharing a joint onstage and passing it to the crowd, and egging fans on by leaning offstage into the audience during songs. By the end of the set, most of the Lips were either stumbling, upside down, or, in guitarist Cole Alexander’s case, hanging from the railing of the Southgate House’s balcony.

No one got naked, vomited upon, or punched, but everyone was more than sufficiently rocked.

- John Crowell @terriblesounds