Considering that it was Valentine's Day eve and identical twins Tegan and Sara are currently the indie pop darlings of the gay world, one would expect to find a whole lot of grrrl power flowing at the Orpheum last Saturday night -- and there was. However, I was surprised to find a fair number of fratty-looking dudes sipping tall cups of Bud Light in the crowded lobby pre-show, and looking almost as psyched to be there as the girls they escorted.
The next revelation of the night came from the second opening act: a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter so talented I did the aural equivalent of a double-take as soon as she opened her mouth. Holly Miranda, a tiny brunette with shaggy hair falling into her eyes, captured the audience's initially scattered attention at first note. Her small stature belies a powerfully throaty voice -- the smoky, soulful croon of a 1920s lounge singer, crossed with the pipes of Chan Marshall and Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine).