L7
L7 @Live Music Club

LA RECENSIONE

Every time I have the fortune to watch and listen to a '90s band, something very strange happens to me that makes me concentrate and think about the passing of time. Yes, because here either Doc McBrown had a hand in it with his time-space continuum, or Mr. Copperfield back in our '90s triggered what I call "The Interrupted Time Magic." It's 8:30 PM, and the Acid Muffin take the stage, warming it up well while entertaining a sparse audience still intent on smoking in the outer room. Then it's the turn of the White Miles, a duo as seen often lately, loud and compulsive sound but nothing surprisingly original. To their defense, the excessively loud drums overshadowed the guitar and vocal melodies, except for a few screams. In essence, the Italians passed! It's 10 PM, and Donita Sparks, Suzi Gardner, Dee Plakas, and Jennifer Finch take the stage, and time stops. We are catapulted back at least twenty-five years to the "Riot Grrrl" movement, to "Rock for Choice," and I think of all the moments spent in front of the television watching VideoMusic, waiting for a video by Nirvana or Soundgarden or L7 themselves among the many dull videos of fleeting bands of those times. In short, if not for a few more wrinkles and a bit of tummy here and there, the impact of the four Riot Girls is exceptional and moving. A well-leveled sound by their Road Crew leads us into tracks like: Deathwish, Andres, Everglade, Monster, Scrap, ending the pre-encore with Shitlist. Of course, the girls, although I should say ladies as they are all over fifty, return to the stage to perform the last three songs, including Pretend We're Dead. The concert ends at 11:30 PM, and at that very moment, I realize I no longer have thick, long hair, I didn't come to the concert by hitchhiking, and I don't have my Kerouac book in my bag, all things I had until a moment before.

M.B.