Photos by J. Schuchard

Visa delays blow. There’s no getting around it. But sometimes a visa mishap for one English band (Coves) means a serendipitous night for a local up-and-comer. This past Monday Rich Girls, fronted by Luisa Black, formerly of The Blacks, seized the opportunity to open for The Raveonettes at the super-swank Bimbo’s 365 Club in North Beach. Black was accompanied by August Churchill on guitar and Chris Sipe on drums, both dressed (as per usual) in suits.

After a successful single release show at Brick & Mortar for “Worse” off their Fiver EP out October 7 (Breakup Records,) Rich Girls exuded the poise and confidence necessary for precluding the heart-wrenching wall-of-sound act that is The Raveonettes. Black was decadently distant from the audience, remaining an enigma with rare moments of banter and pause for the spaces between songs. Her voice is a gritty, timeless call-back to The Cure’s early stuff, dreamily combining with the never-excessive amount of reverb. With too much attitude and know-how to be considered delicate dream-pop, this is a band that you want playing while you smoke your first cigarette. (Don’t smoke, kids.)

Playing songs from Fiver and their 2013 EP The One I Want (Tricycle Records), Rich Girls uncovered new songs to be on the look-out for, including “California Girl” and “Get You High.” Wanna know where you can hear those jangles live? They’ll be playing an EP release show at Rickshaw Stop on October 8 with The Whigs and Greylag.

The Whigs, Greylag, Rich Girls
Rickshaw Stop
October 8, 2014
8pm, $14, (all ages)