
Tag: punk

The Julie Ruin at The Troubadour: Vagina’s and Surprises.
Kathleen Hanna is an icon. She is the nut crushing, vagina wielding, punk singing, ear ringing legend of a once, DIY militant feminism. A militancy that was absolutely necessary in a 90’s era of violent, male dominated, testosterone injected dominance of the American punk scene. Her band, Bikini Kill, not only gave girls a voice in that void of misogynistic obliviousness but insisted on “Girls to the Front!”. On Thursday, November 6th, her band The Julie Ruin headlined night 6 of Red Bull’s 30 Days in L.A. at the Troubadour. The irony of looking at the big, corporate Red Bull logo behind Hanna all night was not lost on me but if Nirvana could start from the Kill Rockstars record label, to Sub Pop and eventually end up on Geffen, then The Julie Ruin could certainly play a gig with Red Bull Sound Select and retain their integrity. Bookings like this give Red Bull’s music division more and more street cred every day. I arrived at The Troubadour just before Red Bull band Bad Girlfriend took the stage. I was in a foul mood. I was fucking exhausted after covering 5 out of 6 of the 30 Red Bull dates

The Damned and T.S.O.L at Irving Plaza Made Halloween in the City Bearable
Halloween. Sorry but it just is not my favorite holiday. Well, not since I was 12. However, Halloween in New York Fucking City at Irving FuckingPlaza, featuring the likes of The Briefs, T.S.O.L. and The Damned was a treat, rather than a trick. (yes, i know -shut the hell up). They all delivered in typical fashion. The Briefs donned friendly Casper sheets to start a tight, fast and loud set from start to finish, which got this somewhat tame Manhattan crowd mobile. By the time TSOL got started, “Banana girl” and “Chicken Suit Dude” were in full swing. Yes, that was the catalog of mosh proof costumes that I witnessed and i think they worked. One gal i met got an elbow to the forehead and it was a good one. She did not enjoy the same insulation as the banana and the chicken and her lack of Halloween spirit ultimately led to her demise. TSOL live is always awesome and never complete without front man, Jack Grisham’s standup comedy action–“People are throwing candy on stage..my mother always tells me not to eat anything like this and i always listen to my mom–she pays my bills..” New drummer Matt Rainwater

