Pure Bathing Culture and Marissa Nadler

Pure Bathing Culture and Marissa Nadler at Mississippi Studios

Monday 2/17

https://twitter.com/KurtKhurtzHagan

Luckily my van made it to the show. I had never been to Mississippi Studios before but I realize now what a special and intimate place it is. 

Marissa Nadler, the Boston singer-songwriter, opened the show and warmed hearts. Her voice is dark and soothing. It was a beautiful sight to see audience members sitting down on the large rug in front of the stage. You felt comfortable with Nadler’s voice and in a trance with her backing cello and violin. Her sound reminded me a lot of Cat Power and Lana Del Ray.

Portland natives, Pure Bathing Culture, headlined the show and were pure 80’s adult contemporary, new wave, and synch pop revival, magic. They performed an appropriate and impressive cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams. I felt I was in an 80’s romance movie the whole time. Every song could have fit perfectly into a Molly Ringwald film.

Sarah Versprille, the lead singer of Pure Bathing Culture, has a beautiful, dreamy voice and her melodies keep you hooked. She also has the hottest mullet ever. She’s the real deal. 

I went from being in a beautiful melodic trance to being in an 80’s romance montage and whenever that happens it’s a sign of a great show.

I started my adventure with no money and barely any gas and not knowing what to expect. I ended the night sleeping in my van with a huge smile on my face because, for at least a few hours on my Monday night, I had been swept away to romantic dreamland's that only exist on old VHS tapes and in the music of Marissa Nadler and Pure Bathing Culture.

k-hurtz

Pure Bathing Culture http://purebathingculture.tumblr.com/

Marissa Nadler http://marissanadler.com/