Le Butcherettes

Photo by Shelley Hiam

Le Butcherettes

The problem with making a big, fat splash with theatrical live shows that leave people shocked and gossiping is that you set up an eternal expectation for drama. Such was the case Sunday afternoon when Mexican garage-punk trio Le Butcherettes commenced its set with the fuzzed-out minor-chord drama of "Empty Dimes," the bleached-blonde drummer bobbing in her seat like a cockatiel as Mars Volta stand-in Omar Rodriguez-Lopez stoically plucked bass. Singer Teri Gender Bender, looking like a salesgirl in the Dillard's shoe department with her long, glossy hair and conservative Sunday school dress, certainly brought on the cognitive dissonance when she sang of the dirty sexy-times in "Tonight" ("It's sin tonight/in my mouth/in my thigh/in my rib/in my backside/in the middle of my sleep"). Despite the hair swinging, the innuendo, and the repeated request to take Gender Bender's dress off, there was a disappointing lack of fake blood and screaming during Le Butcherettes' set. When a band's live reputation precedes them like this, the set feels more safe safe safe than sinful.