When we say get, you say down! GET!

This sucker has fallen a little flat, amirite? 

How should we handle this lil' sitch? 

Perhaps first kill me off for using the term "sitch," and then picket Sagen's place of residence to get her to post.

Yes, this is a plan.

Anyway. Here is the first of a couple overdue updates! 

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Let's talk about Tilly and the Wall. 

More specifically, let's talk about Tilly herself. Tilly, AKA new unofficial lead singer Kianna Alarid. After squeezing into a space beside me at their Atlanta show last Sunday night, Kianna--a heavily tattooed, 5-foot-nothing elf of a candy-rainbow-disco princess--danced wildly to opener Capgun Coup, let me get a nerdy fangirl photo, and was nothing less than wonderful on stage and off.

So it's hard for me to resent And The Wall, Inc. TOO much for letting Kianna take over the stage...AND the videos. Her style, stage presence, and voice--inarguably the strongest of the group--have been gradually nudging her toward front and center for a while. 

Maybe Kianna is the best of the band's three vocalists for the kind of work they're doing right now. While it isn't a direct cut from the upcoming album, their new single "Beat Control" could be our flashing neon hint: they've had it with the construction paper and glue sticks, the sincere and organic scrappiness that Derek Pressnall and Neely Jenkins' voices fit so well. Kianna's saucy and impassioned belting, aided by ever-improving control and strength, may lead an exploration of a more polished and party-ready Tilly.

You know, I do not hate on bands for changing. It's counter-intuitive for any music lover to do so. I'm down for a beat-controlled Tilly album, if that's what this is all leading up to. 

But perhaps it's just more market-savvy for to have one main face. (The smallest and spunkiest face, at that.) I know I probably sound like a douche, but I hope that's not the reasoning behind the Kiannanization. This band's very...BANDY-ness is a huge reason why they are so adored by their fans. They wouldn't be Tilly and the Wall without the vibe that they're just a gang of friends trying to bang out a few honest tunes...ya know, man? 

Okay, that's enough self-indulgent speculation. Tillies, don't hold it against me; I'm just trying to avoid a "Don't Speak" scene! Kianna, step AWAY from the bindi and maroon lipstick! Put the yellow sports bra DOWN! Yeah, I know you were thinking about it. 

On with the show:

Picture exactly what you'd expect from a Tilly show in Atlanta (hometown to half the band) at a place called the Drunken Unicorn. Technicolored, high-energy, and as ecstatic as ever. The club was deliciously tiny. Balloons were released, bopped, and promptly popped. And Tilly sounded tighter and more polished than I've ever heard them. 

So WOOOOO, let's hear it for Kianna and the Tilly and the Walls!

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PS. Capgun Coup were way cute. I actually enjoyed their show a lot more than the stuff I'm hearing on Myspace, but if you like your skinny-indie-boy-rock a little bit messy and loony, keep an eye on them. Think the Unicorns + the Pixies, tossed in a blender and mixed until slightly chunky.