Little Girl Power

The pre-pubescent gals in Smoosh made history October 19 when they became the youngest band ever to play the Casbah. After their set, they were probably the first band to play hide and seek and tag on Kettner Boulevard.

When I arrived at the Casbah, I noticed 13-year-old Asya (keyboards/vocals) and her 11-year-old sister Chloe (drums/vocals) cooped up and chatting inside their tour van. They weren't allowed inside. I ran into their father, Mike, and he laughed it off.

"They don't want them inside pounding drinks," he deadpanned. The minute Smoosh was done opening for Brit buzz band the Go! Team, Casbah staff whisked the two girls out.

Smoosh formed a few years ago in Seattle at the prodding of Death Cab for Cutie's Jason McGerr, who teaches Chloe drums and recorded their yet-to-be-released follow-up to last year's She Like Electric. They've since shared the stage with Pearl Jam, Sleater-Kinney, and Jimmy Eat World.

Smoosh wowed a Casbah crowd saturated with a higher-than-normal amount of 30- to 40-year-old married couples, many of whom wanted autographs or pictures taken with the girls. Though it wasn't as creepy as all of the middle-aged men going crazy over Japan's Afrirampo in July, it still weirded me out.

Other highlights of the show included the playful hip-hop of "Rad" and the "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"-laced "La Pump." The Go! Team wasn't half bad either.