Pegasus Warning and Twin Shadow Bring Sexy Back to Boston's Paradise

Last Sunday Pegasus Warning and Twin Shadow performed an unbelievably sensual show at Boston's Paradise Rock Club. The two singers brought their brand of R&B and rock to an eager audience waiting to gobble up the musicians' tunes.

The web doesn't offer much information about Pegasus Warning, the band that opened up for Twin Shadows. A common thread among new bands is the level of mystery they project on their fans; the notion is that ambiguity equals buzz, which in turn equals fame and sales.

Pegasus Warning played a handful of songs, none of which come from any album as the band has yet to release an LP, however, they did mention an EP was on its way.

The group's stage presence was hard to go unnoticed as the lead singer was dressed in a poncho, a cowboy hat and a long flowing scarf. The sexy drummer was shirtless and made for excellent eye-candy as Pegasus' headman belted out smooth vocals over warm synths and deep backing vocals. According to the group's website, the band has been influenced by Sun Ra, Grace Jones and Bad Brains, and after their sultry performance it is easy to see how they have been inspired by those acts.

Soon after Pegasus Warning finished their set, Twin Shadow, aka George Lewis Jr., took the stage. The first thing he mentioned was that Boston was the last show on his tour (ironically, Beantown was his first stop but the show was moved way back due to the lack of ticket sales).

Lewis came out in a leather jacket, shoulders back and standing tall. He oozed a rugged and handsome sex appeal as he firmly gripped his guitar and launched into his first song "Golden Light," the opener to his wonderful sophomore LP, "Confess." Much like his album, Lewis' nearly two hour set was confident and extremely masculine.

Lewis played a nice assortment of songs from "Confess" and from his debut "Forget." He made sure to play all his singles, including the outstanding "Five Seconds," "Tyrant Destroyer," "Slow," and "Patient." He also played a slowed down version "Run My Heart" and another cut from his first record. The musician sang his songs in front of two monitors that projected random images and shapes. The screens were supposed to add a video element to the experience but they were totally useless as Lewis' GQ-like disposition took center stage.

The musician also had great banter with the enthusiastic audience - he got them to clap along several times and then talked about how much he hates Boston.

"I know I talk a lot of shit on Boston...but that's because I've lived her for four years. My best friend is from Charlestown," Lewis, who is based in New York City, said. His comments received a deafening round of applause from the crowd.

During his chit-chat with the audience, one girl yelled and asked for the band to play "I Don't Care," a highlight off "Confess." He said he usually doesn't take requests but since it was the last show, he would.

The performance was the highlight of the show as he drew on Bruce Springsteen to carry out the new wave dance track. The breaks were on point and the hooks were given new life. The crowd danced and jumped to the energetic track and it was obvious that Lewis was feeding off his fans. Towards the end of the song he took off his black guitar and smashed it to pieces, which caused the audience to lose their minds for the pure rock 'n' roll moment.

"That guitar has been with me for two years, it's played a lot of swell songs," he said in a cool demure tone. Someone in the front row asked to have a piece of the guitar but he laughed and said, "No it's still mine."

The band then left but came back to do an encore. First, it was just Lewis and he made sure he thanked everyone in his crew and backing band before starting his song. The first track he performed was an unplugged (almost a cappella) version of "The One," which proved the musician has an incredible voice. Then, the rest of his band joined Lewis on stage for the last song of the night, "Castles in the Snow."

Before playing it, however, Lewis surprised the crowd yet again by asking everyone to take their shirts off. He joked around with fans and said, "who gives a fuck," and counted down from four. About 60 percent of the audience then yanked off their shirts, revealing a mix of sweaty bodies. At one point, Lewis chuckled and said "Woah, the whitest dude in the room did it!"

The web doesn't offer much information about Pegasus Warning, the band that opened up for Twin Shadows. A common thread among new bands is the level of mystery they project on their fans; the notion is that ambiguity equals buzz, which in turn equals fame and sales.