Pretty Girls Make Graves
Words: Kristin Beck
Photos: Shaun Gomez

Appeared:
May 23, 2007
The Orpheum, Ybor City

The air was thick with the smoke of Black & Milds as a sea of females crowded around the front of the stage waiting to hear Pretty Girls Make Graves play one last time in Tampa. When singer Andrea Zollo began the set, girls and boys alike began to bob their heads and dance to Washington’s own.
   
Pretty Girls Make Graves’ stop at The Orpheum was one of the last nights of their last tour ever. One of the members, Nick Dewitt, quit recently and the band felt that they could not continue without him. So, the show was sentimental, but everyone still seemed to have a great time. PGMG played new and old songs spanning their career, including “Bullet Charm” off the album Élan Vital, to which Andrea said, “We don’t ever play this song, but we are going to play it for you.”
   
Throughout the show, it became evident that PGMG is a pretty interactive band, as several of the band members switched instruments around and took turns banging on the drums or switching between guitars. They also brought their energy into the audience, as band members jumped offstage to play and sing from within the crowd.
   
After the band bowed and walked offstage, the audience did not budge. Instead, the crowd waited patiently to see PGMG play some more and they were not disappointed. For an encore, the band finished strong with two of their most popular songs: “All Medicated Geniuses,” off their newest album, The New Romance, and “Speakers Push the Air,” from their 2002 album, Good Health.
   
It was truly a bittersweet night to have to wish such a great band goodbye after enjoying their set one last time.