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The Kirby Grips saved my life. It happened one evening a few months back while I was caught in gridlock on the way to San Francisco Airport. While attempting to suppress an episode of escalating road rage, I flipped furiously through the low end of the FM dial and came across a gutsy group of girls playing live and giving good interview on one of the local college stations. Stripped down to the barest rock 'n' roll essentials -- guitar (China Faye Tamblyn), bass (Elizabeth Eve Byrne), and drums (Michele Grace Kappel) -- the band reminded me at once of Sleater-Kinney's dynamic energy, rough-edged performances, and straightforward tunes. Despite the drag of sucking down exhaust at 5 mph on the freeway, I was suddenly, blissfully, in indie rock heaven.

Details

Sample of The Kirby Grips' "Water and the Glass," from the CD The Cherry Stem Concertos. Click the "play" icon in the control console below.

<p align="center"> If your browser doesn't display a control console, <A HREF="http://www.sfweekly.com/media/2000-11-22/kirbygrips.mp3"> download the MP3 file</A> to be played by a separate application. </p>

Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley

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More About

• Kirby Grips
• Sleater-Kinney
• Michele Grace Kappel
• Elizabeth Eve Byrne
• The Go-Go's

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Sadly, as the cliché goes, first impressions can be deceiving. The trio's two releases -- the self-produced 1998 EP The Celery Stalks at Night, and The Cherry Stem Concertos, a recently issued full-length on Sympathy for the Record Industry -- sound little like the sing-your-heart-out jams from the radio show. Especially on the new album, there's a preciousness in the band's production that patently echoes the saccharine affability of the Go-Go's, rather than the raw grrl-power of Sleater-Kinney. Granted, the numbers' catchy melodies and multivoice harmonies are attractive, but the excessive smoothness fails to invoke a visceral connection. We can only hope the Kirby Grips will toughen up these tunes in concert and bring their airwave attitude to center stage.