|
Tour Dates
Read More
|
Bikini Kill
at The Warfield
San Francisco
August 18, 2024
Near the front row of the Bikini Kill show, a thirteen-year-old girl who came with her mother was having the best night of her life. Singer Kathleen Hanna held up the girl’s zine and told everyone in the audience to check out her Instagram page, too. It was like this all night—in between the rock, of course—an all-ages, all-gender, democratic lovefest spearheaded by Hanna, Kathi Wilcox, and Tobi Vail, along with touring guitarist Sara Landeau. If the first Sex Pistols show made everyone in the audience want to start their own band, this concert, from the stalwarts of ‘90s feminist punk rock and rockstars of the riot grrrl scene, made me want to reunite mine (we never actually played any gigs), make a zine, get out the vote, and spread hope and DIY vibes enough to lift up the world. It was a punk rock feminist manifesto night, but it also felt so warm and cuddly.
I’m always desperate to catch a beloved band like Bikini Kill when they reunite and go on tour, like the band first did in 2019 after a 23-year absence. I always fear it’ll be my last-ever chance to see legends live. But as I’ve learned with many other reunion tours, the good vibes seem to never end. Lucky for me. From their 2019 Palladium show in Los Angeles, to their Mosswood Meltdown Festival appearance in Oakland in 2022, or this stop in San Francisco, Hanna’s voice and the band’s live sound as a whole have grown tighter, completely self-assured, and with an ease and playfulness that excites the faithful of every demographic.
Not only can you rely on Hanna’s melodic rock wails amid the band’s steady riffs, you can also count on her onstage presence. Dressed in a glittery outfit with flouncy ruffles (think junior high prom queen of the ‘90s), Hanna’s melodic rock wails twinned with the band’s steady riffs, playing hits from every album in their arsenal, with ample opportunities to scream along, be you “Rebel Girl,” maybe looking for that Motley Crue mirror at the “Carnival,” or “Reject(ing) All American.” And Hanna’s infectious dance is of the kind that makes you want to dance exactly like this after the show, by yourself, in your bedroom—a kind of upbeat, bopping rock jig that’s a little silly but somehow also effortlessly cool, at least when you watch it onstage, singing your favorite ‘90s feminist anthems.
The band cycled through their greatest hits like the aforementioned, along with “Demi Rep” (the collab with Joan Jett), “Suck My Left One” just before “Rebel Girl” for the encore, and “Jigsaw Youth.” But the between-song banter also felt cathartic, energizing, and full of hope and gratitude for how far the band, and its fans, have come after all these years. Seeing four women of rock commanding the stage, sharing stories, engaging the crowd of all genders and ages in songs of strength and defiance and honesty feels especially essential during another scary election year in the U.S. The past is present, and the future is here. And on this night, I’m with her, and her, and her, and her.
at The Warfield
San Francisco
August 18, 2024
Near the front row of the Bikini Kill show, a thirteen-year-old girl who came with her mother was having the best night of her life. Singer Kathleen Hanna held up the girl’s zine and told everyone in the audience to check out her Instagram page, too. It was like this all night—in between the rock, of course—an all-ages, all-gender, democratic lovefest spearheaded by Hanna, Kathi Wilcox, and Tobi Vail, along with touring guitarist Sara Landeau. If the first Sex Pistols show made everyone in the audience want to start their own band, this concert, from the stalwarts of ‘90s feminist punk rock and rockstars of the riot grrrl scene, made me want to reunite mine (we never actually played any gigs), make a zine, get out the vote, and spread hope and DIY vibes enough to lift up the world. It was a punk rock feminist manifesto night, but it also felt so warm and cuddly.
I’m always desperate to catch a beloved band like Bikini Kill when they reunite and go on tour, like the band first did in 2019 after a 23-year absence. I always fear it’ll be my last-ever chance to see legends live. But as I’ve learned with many other reunion tours, the good vibes seem to never end. Lucky for me. From their 2019 Palladium show in Los Angeles, to their Mosswood Meltdown Festival appearance in Oakland in 2022, or this stop in San Francisco, Hanna’s voice and the band’s live sound as a whole have grown tighter, completely self-assured, and with an ease and playfulness that excites the faithful of every demographic.
Not only can you rely on Hanna’s melodic rock wails amid the band’s steady riffs, you can also count on her onstage presence. Dressed in a glittery outfit with flouncy ruffles (think junior high prom queen of the ‘90s), Hanna’s melodic rock wails twinned with the band’s steady riffs, playing hits from every album in their arsenal, with ample opportunities to scream along, be you “Rebel Girl,” maybe looking for that Motley Crue mirror at the “Carnival,” or “Reject(ing) All American.” And Hanna’s infectious dance is of the kind that makes you want to dance exactly like this after the show, by yourself, in your bedroom—a kind of upbeat, bopping rock jig that’s a little silly but somehow also effortlessly cool, at least when you watch it onstage, singing your favorite ‘90s feminist anthems.
The band cycled through their greatest hits like the aforementioned, along with “Demi Rep” (the collab with Joan Jett), “Suck My Left One” just before “Rebel Girl” for the encore, and “Jigsaw Youth.” But the between-song banter also felt cathartic, energizing, and full of hope and gratitude for how far the band, and its fans, have come after all these years. Seeing four women of rock commanding the stage, sharing stories, engaging the crowd of all genders and ages in songs of strength and defiance and honesty feels especially essential during another scary election year in the U.S. The past is present, and the future is here. And on this night, I’m with her, and her, and her, and her.
|
Bikini Kill at the Warfield, San Francisco (18 August 2024) |
| Robin Lapid ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
Comments