Young. Angry. Skinny. Catchy. Gasy.

I just saw The Dizzy Brains live.

I really had no idea what to expect. I knew nothing of them other than their name, which I had seen on a roster for the Libertalia Music Festival. But the venue was a fancy hotel, and the advertisement listed a host of corporate sponsors, so I had set my expectations for some kind of jazz-influenced elevator world music; nonthreatening, highly polished.

I got out of the taxi and I heard the rumblings of a driving punk band. This was a surprise. And I admit that before I saw them I started to imagine a probably-white group from outside Madagascar.

I could hear, but I couldn’t see over the security fence. I got in line. I paid my 3000 Ariary cover charge (a buck, more or less). Someone slapped a blue wristband on me. Someone else pressed two condoms into my hand.

Then I was in.

Once I could see the stage… What the hell? These guys are Gasy — as in Malagasy.

This video is a diluted taste of The Dizzy Brains:

I’m a fan. Imagine The Strokes with real problems, not just First World Problems.

I’m sure the lyrics lose a lot in translation. I noticed that the f-bombs got lost in the English subtitles.

More music from The Dizzy Brains on Soundcloud >>

About those condoms…

One of the sponsors of the event was the American taxpayer — by way of a subsidized condom brand with the very clever logo. There were TV monitors showing advertisements for these condoms. If you blinked, you’d miss the USAID logo that flashed on the screen like a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval just as you starting to think about safe sex.