Natural Born Kissers, Big Girl, Lola Star @ Elsewhere Zone One

by Juliette Boulay | Jul 27, 2022 | Shows

Natural Born Kissers at Elsewhere Zone One (photo by Juliette Boulay)

I found the Natural Born Kissers show at Elsewhere Zone 1 the way I find a lot of shows—by looking through venue calendars and listening to upcoming bands until I find something I like. And lately I’ve been big on indie and shoegaze so this lineup was super appealing to me.

The show was openned up by Lola Star, an NYC-based shoegaze band with a couple members from another dreamy rock band, waveform*. I was interested in seeing this band in particular after hearing their self-titled EP that came out last year. Their sound has the classic dissonance of bedroom pop and ringing high notes reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine. While I’m sad I got there a little too late to see their entire set, I did enjoy their performance and would see them again.

As for the second act, Big Girl, I wasn’t sure of what to expect at first. They only have one song on streaming platforms at the moment so it was hard to grasp how their performance might sound. In retrospect, I’m really glad I got to see the group with fresh eyes; they’re a theatrical force and you can really only feel their full effect in a live setting. Made complete with cherry red vinyl and platform crocs, they put on an amazing show.

Big Girl

Big Girl’s act is campy, electric, and gives Rocky Horror Picture Show energy. With choreographed dancing and saturated stage outfits, I almost felt like this show could be taken to Broadway. I loved how unique their set was and the dynamic energy singer Kaitlin Pelkey brought to each and every track.

If you’d like to see Big Girl perform, you can find them at The Broadway in Brooklyn on Sat 8/20 for their “Summer Sickness” single release. You can pre-save the track here, as well.

Headlining band Natural Born Kissers went on last. Their performance was angsty and infectiously sweet, something to be expected from their self-described “picnic punk” genre. Singer Mika Itkin-Weinstein hopped around in a yellow cottage-core dress and pigtails while her bandmates grounded the stage. The crowd echoed their energy right back and it felt a bit like a homecoming. This made sense as it was their first show since 2019—and they made an inspiring comeback. Everyone knew the words, Itkin-Weinstein killed the performance with her shoes off, and the crowd got the band to do an encore. The real kind where they had to ask the sound crew to turn the stage back on.

Natural Born Kissers

They played a number of songs and included their new single, “thing I do when I’m alone.” The band also covered “Sweet Jane” by The Velvet Underground with the help of lyrics written in a small, picnic-friendly notebook.

While I’m not sure of who to compare them to in terms of active bands, they do remind me a bit of early No Doubt. Whether you’re a No Doubt fan or just want to hear a band with their own distinct sound, I’d suggest giving Natural Born Kissers a listen if you haven’t already.

Natural Born Kissers “things i do when i’m alone”

Listen to their new single above and find it on all streaming platforms. Follow them on Instagram to find out when they play next.