Bikini Kill @ The Warfield 8/18/2024

August 18th was show night one of two Bikini Kill shows at The Warfield in San Francisco and we were lucky enough to be there for it!

Bikini Kill @ The Warfield 8/18/2024 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Seven short years after bursting on to the punk rock scene screaming femmist lyrics for everyone to hear, the band from Olympia disband in 1997. By then Bikini Kill had pioneered the Riot Grrrl movement combining femminism, punk rock and politics. Frontwoman Kathleen Hanna carried on with the electronic rock band La Tigre in the 90s and 2000s and began recording with The Julie Ruin in 2010.

In 2019 Bikini Kill announced their reunion with a 2020 tour which subsequently got rescheduled for 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Now Bikini Kill is on tour again selling out shows as fans new and old flock to see this trailblazing band. 

Bikini Kill @ The Warfield 8/18/2024 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

I got to the Warfield after the openers had already played, later than I had ancipated but not as late as when I saw them play at Pappy & Harriet's in 2022. I've had pepper spray hanging from my keys for years so when I went through security I wasn't expecting to have the venue confiscate it. That was a first.
I was able to collect it when I left but the irony of having it confiscated at a femminist punk rock show wasn't lost on me.
The venue was packed but I managed to find enough room on the floor, squeezed my way in and waited. After thirty minutes of waiting through the change over I wasn't the only one in the crowd who was ansy for the show to go on. After a few more minutes, it finally did. With her signature high bun, Hanna was a vision in a soft pink poofy dress topped with sparkly sequence and black tights.

Who says wearing pink and sparkles isn't punk?

Backed by an all girl band: original bassist Kathi Wilcox and original drummer Tobi Vail and guitarist Sara Landeau, Hanna greeted The Warfield before getting got to it.

It was a soft launched frenzy that gained momentum with each song they played. Swimming in a sea of blarring red lights, a few songs in and sure enough a mosh pit was formed on true punk fashion as Bikini Kill cranked out what fans were there for.

Hanna shared the excitement for being there, stopping the show to share how good it was to be there, for all us to be there and how awesome it was to see all the generations come together at their shows. An inter-generational crowd as she deemed it.

Bikini Kill @ The Warfield 8/18/2024 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

 

She reminded us older punks in the crowd that we can learn a lot from younger generations and praised the youth for fighting for things like equal, fair pay. 

Eveything she said was met with cheers and applause. 

They switched things up a couple different times with neon pink haired sunglasses wearing Vail on vocals, Hanna on bass and Wilcox and Vail spiliting guitar and drum duty. The rearrangement didn't alter anything but rather it reinforced just how awesome of a band Bikini Kill is. They are all strong musicians no matter what role their playing. And their show (wo)manship did not disapoint. 

Bikini Kill @ The Warfield 8/18/2024 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The crowd ate up how personable they got on stage. Hanna's animated antics fed the growing energy through out the crowd as she screeched and wailed and growled. Short, fast songs from years past deliver messages about sex, drugs and rock n roll that still ring true today. So while the what the future holds for Bikini Kill might not be clear it is clear that Bikini Kill's still got it and people still want it. 

Bikini Kill @ The Warfield 8/18/2024 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

They went on to play The Warfield the following night before taking their show on the road to the next stop. Bikini Kill's current tour wraps up next month, catch them if you can!

photo by Nikki DeMartini