{"id":8798,"date":"2024-06-16T20:05:40","date_gmt":"2024-06-16T19:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/?p=8798"},"modified":"2024-06-18T19:27:03","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T18:27:03","slug":"bikini-kill-o2-academy-glasgow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/bikini-kill-o2-academy-glasgow\/","title":{"rendered":"BIKINI KILL: O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bikini Kill<\/em> last unleashed their riotous rallying cry in Glasgow back in 1996, making tonight\u2019s appearance rarer that Scotland\u2019s inclusion in the EUROs<\/em>\u2026just. But while Scotland pussyfoot around the pitch in the opening match of the championships in Germany, Bikini Kill<\/em> go full throttle, rampaging through an abrasive set seeped in passion and punk, fury and fun at the city\u2019s O2 Academy.  <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the band\u2019s shows have always been about more than just the music, Kathleen Hanna, Tobi Vail and Kathi Wilcox relentless in their drive to see feminism make its mark on the punk scene of the early \u201890s, Hanna getting an early taste of what was to come when the male \u2018virtuosos\u2019 in her after-school guitar class laughed their cotton socks off at her well-rehearsed Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star guitar solo. Bikini Kill<\/em> soon became trailblazers, fighting against the sexism and abuse that had plagued their lives and the music industry, misogyny pretty much \u2018accepted\u2019 by society, many moons before the rise of the #MeToo movement. They laid out their original ideology in the Riot Grrrl Manifesto<\/em>, published in the band\u2019s second zine in 1991, entitled Girl Power.<\/em> Before long, the noise surrounding the cause began permeating other industries, something I remember well as I built my first website in 1996 under the backdrop of the Web Grrrl movement, which helped women network and find jobs relating to that newfangled internet thingy, unsurprisingly an area which was already being dominated by men. But the Riot Grrrl movement still lingers, and the band themselves celebrate not just feminism but inclusivity and justice, with Vail sending a message of outrage, hope and support to Gaza tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the trio storm the stage, complete with touring guitarist Sara Landeau (the band\u2019s original guitarist Billy Karren never returning after their 2017 reunion), Hanna quips \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure if anyone was going to show up\u201d. But football\u2019s the furthest thing from anyone\u2019s mind in the O2 Academy tonight, the screams summing up the mood of the crowd as the band launch into a rollicking attack of New Radio<\/strong>, Hanna\u2019s syrupy vocals mutating into gloriously deranged snarls as she punches out her dance moves like she\u2019s singing into a hairbrush in her bedroom. Decked out in a pink sparkle-topped puffball frock, she’s the twrrrling antithesis of the pirouetting ballerina on those musical jewellery boxes that used to freak me out as a child. She\u2019s joyful and angry, the perfect mix for revving up the crowd, engaging with everyone from the outset, the mosh pit churning as a stripy-legged being is carried above a sea of heads while the band hurl numbers from their two studio albums, \u201993\u2019s Pussy Whipped<\/strong> and \u201996\u2019s Reject All America<\/strong>, and \u201991 demo Revolution Girl Style Now<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When Bikini Kill<\/em> first started touring, their gigs were meant to be a safe haven but sadly some people couldn\u2019t accept the audacity of a bunch of punk girls asserting their opinions and values, and they regularily faced a backlash, the mood often soured but their message never muted. Thankfully, today the tables have turned and they sell out venues much bigger than first time round (the band splitting in 1997), their legacy applauded, resulting in a whole new wave of fans. Tonight the crowd is predominantly young, Bikini Kill<\/em>\u2019s ethos a shining light for so many, their messages more relevant than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From time to time drummer Vail takes over the vocals, Hanna moving on to bass, and Wilcox switching to drums, and I can\u2019t help but wonder how this would all have panned out had Vail not turned down Kurt Cobain\u2019s offer to become Nirvana<\/em>\u2019s drummer, her desire to be part of this feminist band too strong to resist. Would Dave Grohl\u2019s Foo Fighters<\/em> still be selling out stadiums right now? Of course that\u2019s not their only link to Nirvana<\/em>, Hanna, a close friend of Cobain\u2019s before the band hit the big time, scrawling the words \u201cKurt smells like teen spirit\u201d on his wall after a drunken night out, referring to a can of deodorant they\u2019d spotted in a store earlier that day (the better choice over \u2018Kurt is keeper of the kennel\u2019, something also scribbled that night). He even asked her permission before naming the iconic song, his love and respect for Hanna clear. This is the sort of story that Hanna\u2019s recently released memoir, Rebel Girl<\/em>, brings to life, and as intimate and traumatic aspects of her life unfold with a dignity and wryness not many could maintain, she also reveals the musicians who set her on her own musical journey, such as the Go-Go\u2019s<\/em>, Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex<\/em>, Viv Albertine of the Slits<\/em>, Babes in Toyland<\/em> and Fugazi<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A million miles from the sanitised, polished pop that rules the mainstream airwaves, tonight\u2019s numbers are raw and unforgiving, Hanna and Vails\u2019 vocals becoming stronger as the night goes on, their rage growing more visceral, offset nicely with their cheerful banter. Poor Vail grapples with our representation of American food as \u201ca hot dog in water in a jar\u201d after spotting such a specimen at an earlier trip to a local shop, even dedicating Tell Me So <\/strong>to the forlorn hotdog. Aw, poor wee sausage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the set drawing to a close, you can almost taste Hanna\u2019s revolt on Lil\u2019 Red<\/strong>, a personal number reflecting on the ultimate betrayal, and by the time she introduces last number Suck My Left One<\/strong>, named after something her older sister used to say to guys who harassed her, she\u2019s overcome with emotion, telling us that she no longer speaks to her “Trump supporter\u201d sister, adding sadly \u201cbut she used to be my hero\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there\u2019s only one song required for the encore, Rebel Girl<\/strong>, Bikink Kill<\/em>\u2019s triumphant 1993 anthem, which Hanna dedicates to all the feminists in the house before reminding us to expel hatred and instead use that energy to make art, spend time with love ones and congratulate each other when we do a good job. Rebel Girl<\/strong> is simply massive tonight, the goofy \u201860s rally cry of \u201cThat girl thinks she\u2019s the queen of the neighbourhood \/ I got news for you, she is!\u201d <\/em>fusing with a deliciously discordant punk-charged riot, the crowd singing every word back to the band. Great job!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an evening that will not only linger in the memories of the older members of the audience who remember the \u201890s first hand, but for the new intake of fans, aware that they’re experiencing something special and clearly enthralled by the queens of the neighbourhood. Never stop believing, grrrls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you’re looking for some summer holiday reading, Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk<\/strong> by Kathleen Hanna is out now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words: Shirley Mack <\/strong>@musingsbymarie<\/a>
Pictures: Calum Mackintosh<\/strong>@ayecandyphotography<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bikini Kill last unleashed their riotous rallying cry in Glasgow back in 1996, making tonight\u2019s appearance rarer that Scotland\u2019s inclusion in the EUROs\u2026just. But while Scotland pussyfoot around the pitch in the opening match of the championships in Germany, Bikini Kill go full throttle, rampaging through an abrasive set seeped in passion and punk, fury and fun at the city\u2019s O2 Academy.   Of course, the band\u2019s shows have always been about more than just the music, Kathleen Hanna, Tobi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"wds_primary_category":4},"categories":[17,5,54,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8798"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8798"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8840,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8798\/revisions\/8840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}