With all this recent talk about feminism done by what I call fake feminists, it was about time to see a true and pure specimen of what is considered third wave feminism… People who had the chance to attend the free show hosted by Voices and Visions at the Bovard auditorium on the USC campus on Monday night, witnessed an authentic Riot Grrrl performance and it was quite fun.
First, were Sex Stains, with their catchy-dirty moniker and more female boldness in a step than in all twerking moves of new feminist-icons Miley Cyrus and Beyonce. I had already seen them at Echo Park Rising this summer, and they put once again a great punk show with two riotous front girls, singing in dissonance, constantly walking and bouncing on stage. Allison Wolfe, of Bratmobile and Partyline fame, wrapped in a glamorous glittering dress, was often making the lead with high-pitch yells, having a screaming dialogue with experimental dancer/choreographer Mecca Vazie Andrews and her aggressive and manly vocals, despite her girlie retro white dress. She even did a cartwheel when she arrived on stage, and she definitively was the talkative one between the songs, not letting the energy level going down for a minute. The songs were fast and short, in a very punk tradition, delivered with punch and humor in a buoyant style by the two girls, going totally chaotic or even doing some half-spoken delivery, or playing vengeful women while never stop smiling,…’I smile a lot but it doesn’t mean I am happy’, said Allison Wolfe, as she was jokingly introducing each of her songs, ‘this one is about sex in the subway, and I don’t know why because I had never done anything like that’. They were sexy and funny, and the rest of their performance was a joyous aggressive feast soon joined by Violence Girl Alice Bag for a last song and a riotous rendition of ‘We Will Bury You’.
Kathleen Hanna appeared on stage under the clapping and cheering of the auditorium audience, wearing a gay-theme kind-of dress, a high bun tight in a gold bow (she admitted it was a fake one later on), and the rest of the night was a high-pitch, high energy protest song-dance, with Hanna’s vocals turning kind of Minnie Mouse tone at time. She was very talkative and discussed her ‘icon status’ while laughing and turning it in total derision, she mentioned her return to making music as the singer for the Julie Ruin band after a long battle with Lyme disease. She even canceled a tour early this year, but she sure didn’t show any sign of the disease last night while she was freely dancing, backed up by her band, and especially her keyboardist Kenny Mellman, who was great at a funny musical shouting dialogue with Hanna on some songs. The Riot Grrrl theme is making some kind of comeback as Hanna is also the subject of the movie ‘The Punk Singer’, which is currently screened everywhere and which follows her career as the lead singer of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre and as a very outspoken feminist icon, despite her reluctance to be called that way.
There was a real liberation in this music, a sort of middle-age I-couldn’t-care-less-of-what-you-think,… despite her health problems, Hanna seemed to feel better than ever, and she exulted charm and confidence, throwing a dance party, alternatively bringing some splash of punk, 80s electro-new Wave, with her girlie voice in the middle, bringing memories of her 20-year musical career…. I wouldn’t say this for myself as I haven’t closely followed her, but there were obviously many people attending the show who had! Contrarily to what I had expected, the show was being much more dance-y than riotous, even more LCD soundsystem via the B52s than I would have imagined to be, but I was greatly enjoying the show nevertheless, as the USC security had let me get to the front, with the other photographers… great! I should have tried even earlier. There were a few breathers, quieter musical moments with a bit less attitude and more sweetness but between the songs Hanna was throwing things like ‘poverty is the biggest feminist issue’,… a real ‘bummer’ as she added immediately, or ‘it’s a song about euthanasia’ before ‘Party city’, but nothing could have stopped the show, and Kathleen would not stop talking, ‘I really like attention, I like to perform and that’s okay!’ and it was more than okay for everyone there.
‘I stopped blaming myself for stuff my body is going through,’ she said at one point, asking us why the conversation about her disease is often turning to ‘how supportive her husband is’…’I love my husband [Beastie Boys’ Adam Horovitz], he is great but why is that the parade’? she continued before singing ‘Oh Come on!’ and coming back for a feisty encore with ‘Ha Ha Ha’, having more fun than ever.
Setlist
V.G.I.
Lookout
Radical or Pro-Parental
Friendship station (Le Tigre)
Party City
South Coast Plaza
Kids in NY
This is not a Test (Bikini Kill)
In the picture
Brightside
Goodnight Goodbye
Oh Come on
Ha Ha Ha
