Don't Call it a Comeback: Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield

Ace of Base has reentered the ether, and you know what that means. The '90s are officially back. Topping off a season of major last-century rock comebacks from Hole to Pavement, the alterna-power-sorta couple Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield played an acoustic show last night at the Mercury Lounge in New York City. (They play another sold-out set tonight.)

But first! Let's talk about the opening act. The Shining Twins: a self-described "riot grrrl band with a token gay guy"... named Xanax, no less. Hailing originally from San Diego, the rhythm section/front woman duo Alex Weiss and Marisa Kreiss now call the East Village home, where they reportedly sleep in bunkbeds and share a boyfriend. They play super catchy, snotty-in-a-cute-way riot-pop songs and are totally freaking adorable.

They're also young enough to be the legitimate offspring of Hatfield and Dando. Let's be honest. If you were a sexual creature in the 1990s you wanted to either be or do one or the other. The same pretty much holds true now. They played a slightly ragged low-key set of Lemonheads favorites (though not, unfortunately, "Big Gay Heart" -- we had to dig up the vintage footage above to get our fix) and Juliana's newer, sadder solo material. More than one person in the crowd made a "missing my bedtime" joke. And more than one of them thought it was worth it.

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