Seeing Girlpool live confirmed that I want the duo to be my new best friends. Last week’s show at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst gave me a definitely false sense of hope in achieving this dream; the first thing I saw walking into the venue was Girlpool themselves crawling around on all fours under the merch tables.

Perched atop a barely elevated stage, Girlpool’s Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad felt like they were playing in my living room. The effect of the intimate space was furthered by the friendliness and warmth pouring out of the two bandmates. In witty banter between songs, the band would chat with each other and ask questions to the audience. At a point in the show, they even burst into songs from the musical Wicked.

There was little in the way of a visual show, but the no frills approach was refreshing. The music was similarly unpretentious, with Girlpool reminding its audience that less is more. The band is entirely sans-drummer-- composed of just bass, guitar, and two vocals-- but drums are never missed. Tight, almost country western-esque harmonies, jangly guitars, and elementary basslines meet Girlpool’s imaginative knack for lyricism seamlessly.

The group somehow manages to capture the purest and rawest emotions in songs often no more than 2 minutes in length. Girlpool also feels like a bit of a '90s time capsule, drawing on memories of stripped down grunge singers like Liz Phair and the roaring guitar and raw harmonies of groups like the Pixies. Yet, Girlpool was playing new songs so fresh they haven’t even been released yet.

Though I expected the audience to look a lot like me and be composed of a young female demographic, fans were far wider in diversity than that. Men not only showed up, but were dancing around quite enthusiastically. The best audience member was the dude standing next to me-- a man in a Jesus outfit, complete with toga and cardboard halo. Jesus RAGED, dancing hard through each song, blessing both the band and the venue that acts as a church by day.

Jesus loved Girlpool at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, and so did I.

IMAGE: NPR