Pitchfork

The official live return of former Be Your Own Pet singer Jemina Pearl wasn't a big deal by design. On Saturday night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, she was just the opening act for reunited hard rockers the Fluid, after all. And her new band, featuring BYOP drummer John Eatherly on guitar, sometime Turbo Fruit Max Peebles on bass, and the Tall Firs' Ryan Sawyer on drums, didn't sound all that different from her old one on this initial run through. Though there were no food fights this time around.

"It feels weird to be back on stage," said Pearl, and you could see her try to break through her old BYOP identity while maintaining the same hand-on-hip antics that made her BYOP identity so fun to watch. (Hence the Transformer button?) She mostly kept mum on her old band, only admitting the breakup was "a bummer." But even playing a bunch of never-heard-before songs to an audience that was more curious than excited, Pearl fell on the floor, made freaky faces, and let plenty of spit hang from her lip. What felt weird for her felt right for almost everyone else.

If you missed it, check out our recent interview with Pearl, where she talks about her old band, her new band, and seeing The House Bunny with Thurston Moore.

Here's video of a new song called "So Sick", via Stereogum.