Bikini Kill Revives 90's Riot Grrrl Punk Tracks For Fans at Toronto's History
Olympia, Washington natives, Bikini Kill threw down a night for the books in Toronto on Wednesday at History. Montreal punk rockers, Tha Retail Simps warmed up the crowd with a psych-tinged rock n' roll set, which was later praised by drummer/vocalist Tobi Vail.
Bikini Kill are insistent on performing at all ages venues, which led into commentary on the importance of accessibility and inclusion and the slow disappearance of DIY spaces all over their old stomping grounds. Lead singer Kathleen Hanna reminisced to the crowd about basement shows that blew her mind growing up in the 80's and 90's.
In between opening songs Hanna made a callback to a statement she made at a Le Tigre show at History in 2023, asking the crowd "What do we say to the haters?" The crowd roared "Thanks for the inspiration!". They then launched into the inspirational tune, "This Is Not a Test".
Throughout the night, the band dealt out a rich array of tracks spanning across albums. Audience members roared in unison to legendary tracks "Double Dare Ya", "Carnival", "Alien She" and "Reject All American". Between songs, the band would alter roles and Vail would take the mic, being replaced on the drums by Kathi Wilcox, while Hanna took over bass. It was a fine-tuned arrangement that leant itself nicely to songs like "Hamster Baby" and "Tell Me So".
Hanna gave the crowd some simple, yet effective advice on how to de-escalate an uncomfortable retort from a stranger. She recommends tossing out a wildcard by replying with gibberish the next time someone questions your gender identity or where you're from. Right on theme, the encore consisted of the highly anticipated tracks "Suck My Left One" and "Rebel Girl", which naturally led to some crowd surfing from a hyped-up audience member.
The band announced earlier in the year that this will be their farewell tour and Hanna gushed about how it is so humbling to have fans show up and dance after nearly 30 years of them being on hiatus. We double dare ya to get to a Bikini Kill show in your area asap!
Review & Photos by: Rachel Imre
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