L7 LIVEEEE
Brighton Music Hall Sept 16, 2023 in Boston
My first time seeing L7 was last September at Brighton Music Hall in Boston for their 2023 In Your Space tour with my sister, Caroline. When we were kids we spent a lot of time at our great-grandmothers house, often watching TV when I got tired of playing with worms outside. For some reason we ended up accidentally (are there really accidents, though?) seeing John Waters’s 1994 film Serial Mom. If you’ve never seen the movie, I urge you to go watch it right now (after you read this), it’s truly the one of the funniest movies, with a star-studded cast (Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard), AND a performance by Camel Lips, aka L7. So while my sister and I had no idea who L7 was when we watched that movie, we were enthralled by their stage presence: the vag prosthetics, the accessory to murder, the flames, the original song for the film. Holyyyy shit, it’s so wild. John Waters really nailed it casting L7.
I will be posting an extensive history of the band in a few short weeks, but to oversimplify, L7 is one of the most kickass bands out there. Oftentimes they’re grouped in with other women bands of the 90’s, and sometimes even lumped in with the riot grrrrl music scene, but L7 was rockin’ hard and doing their own thing totally separate from bands like 7 Year B*tch, Bratmobile, and Sleater-Kinnney, who all kick ass too. Bassist, Jennifer Finch actually talks a lot about the genre-fication of music that happened during the 90’s on Toby Morse's One Life One Chance podcast, which perhaps contributed to tHe InDuStRy not knowing where L7 “belonged” categorically. The thing is, that’s one of the coolest parts about the band, they transcend genre, along with pretty much every expectation of how a woman should be by our super cool societal standards.
The first time I heard the song “Wargasm” from their 1992 album Bricks Are Heavy I honestly thought I was going to fall over. The lyrics are subversive and limit-pushing, all the while incredibly true, making it a punchy, fast, anti-war anthem. The song samples Yoko Ono’s screams adding to the terror of war creating an absolutely kickass song that makes you want to scream and punch and kick the air.
My friend and fellow L7 fanatic taught me about rock’n’roll karma, and let me tell you, there’s something about going to an L7 show that seems to deliver the greatest vibes. I’ve since been to two more L7 shows, so I feel confident in saying that— but it’s not just me, L7 fans are truly the coolest people I’ve ever met. I mean it makes sense, cool ass band = cool ass fans. Of course there’s always one village idiot at a show, but when they act up, the crowd always sets them straight. Like, bro, do you even listen to L7? Or are you just some horny freak with zero self-awareness?
My sister and I rolled into Brighton with barely enough time to fathom the insane street parking situation, but made the time to yell at a creepy man being weird at a red light in the car next to us, have a very minor meltdown (because sisters), and finally manage to find parking literally across the street from the venue. Was I legally parked? I have no idea. But did I get a ticket? Nope! Rock’n’roll karma? Maybeeee.
We grew up going to see Social Distortion when we were kids (also shout out to Mike Ness for calling all the kids up on stage at our first SD show, and it was just 10-year-old-me and my 8-year-old-sister who were the only kids there)and saw The Eyeliners open for them which was sick, but for the most part, my sister and I had never seen women play live music the way L7 does: fast, hard, fun. I was fucking amped while we waited in line outside the venue for security to check our bags and take our tickets. Ahead of us was a woman with bleach blonde hair, blacked-out eye makeup, and knee-high converse boots. Once we got inside, I noticed her sneakily slide the pocketknife out from her boot where she’d hid it from the doorman. Hell yeah!
The venue was a quintessential divey club that somehow exuded that classic Masshole vibe without being douchey. It’s a fine balance, but there’s something so charming and homey about it, like being in a family member’s home, if their home was a bar/music venue: pool tables in the back room, KENO playing on a TV screen next to another playing Family Guy, wallpaper in the bathrooms. As tradition, Caroline and I usually each get a Red Bull before the show to kick things into gear. We grabbed our drinks and found a sweet spot right up front, where we noticed that blonde woman from earlier standing behind us, and in front of us stood a hot lesbian couple playfully moshing with each other in a loving way. Already I could tell how different seeing an all-woman band was going to be.
Tarah Who? opened for the band, fronted by Tarah Carpenter. Tarah banged on a large bass drum that stood in front of her between certain songs, instantly captivating the audience. It was my introduction to Tarah Who? and I have since become a pretty big fan of their music. They have a new album out, so go listen to The Last Chance! One of my favorite songs by them is called Manners. It’s a song about how people use religion to control and harm other people, especially queer and marginalized people. Tarah’s voice is commanding and melodic at the same time. It is clear in her music that the message in her lyrics is equally as important as the structure and arrangement of the music. Also, her guitarist, Lisa Bianco, can really shred!
After Tarah Who? finished their set, Caroline and I started chatting with the blonde, Erica, and hot lesbians: Lisa and Lisa’s wife (we never got her name and if you ever see this, know we love you). They truly made the show so much fun for us! We also met another couple who ended up taking a pic of me and my t-shirt (vintage Lunachicks! for the win!) and they ended up sending the picture to Chip English, the band’s drummer. Before L7 went on, we all huddled up and pretty much gave each other consent to mosh after Lisa’s wife stated she wanted to slam. It was the most respectful mosh pit I have ever been in— don’t get me wrong though, it went hard. Truly, the coolest thing ever. The entire time I could feel my concert buddies looking out for me, having my back, and most importantly making sure I was having a killer time. I think that’s really something to highlight when it come to L7; their fans are so fucking kind. Never in my life have I encountered a group of people who are so thoughtful, helpful, and caring. Seriously, the more fellow fans I meet, the prouder I am to be one.
We went back to chatting away with Erica which led to meeting the iconic Lisa and her wife (sadly, we never got her name). Lisa and her wife had been in L7 cover bands, and are pretty die-hard fans. They actually had a crazy story about getting kicked out of an L7 show for fighting an aggressive man during “Everglade.” If you don’t already know the song, it’s about a big dumb drunk idiot ruining the fun in the pit of a show. “Don’t cross my line, says Everglade!”
L7 walking up to their signature intro song, Link Wray & The Wrayman’s Rumble:
The energy was insane. Before the band even stepped on stage, you could feel the room had completely filled up with eager eyes ready to rock their heads off. And that’s exactly what we did. The eruption of “Andres” was explosive. When I turned my head to look behind me, the entire venue had transformed from a room filled with people into, not just a sea, but a tsunami of punks screaming “I’M SORRRRAAAY!!!!”
I genuinely wish I had more details and documentation of the night, but I was intent on keeping my phone in my bag, and experiencing the concert in the most present way possible. Of course I regret that now. But the thing is, seeing L7 is something that truly needs to be experienced first hand. However, that doesn’t stop me from watching every single concert and live performance posted on YouTube. This was my first concert where I felt protected in the chaos, and also safe, mainly surrounded by women and queer people, and chill dudes. Of course, there’s that one dumbass who’s standing right in the middle of the pit getting pissed about people moshing— grow up and get over it. Also, move over dude, or should I say get out of my way or I might shove?? :)
This show was by far rowdiest crowd out of all the L7 shows I’ve been to, and possibly the loudest. At the end of the show all of our new friends came in for a big sweaty group hug. The connections— even if ephemeral— were so meaningful and real. That whole show we had each others backs, making sure we were safe, protected, and most importantly having the time of our lives screaming out the lyrics to “Shitlist,” and moshing our little hearts out. At the end of the show, Jennifer came out with her camera (if you don’t already know, Finch started out photographing bands back when she was a teenager— her archive is unmatched, seriously) to snap a pic of the crowd. There’s something about the symbiosis of performer and audience member, that L7 has really mastered. Yeah, they’re rockstars, but they’re humble, and real as hell.
The set list:
Andres
Fuel My Fire
Everglade
Scrap
Shove
Stadium West
Monster
Mr. Integrity
Human
Can I Run
Drama
One More Thing
Slide
Non-Existent Patricia
Fighting the Crave
War With You
Bad Things
Pretend We're Dead
Dispatch From Mar-a-Lago
Shitlist
Encore:
American Society
Fast and Frightening
Suzi with her signature cat ears, Donita with her Flying V(agina) and Jennifer with her iconic red hair. And as for Dee, if you squint hard enough you can kinda see she’s there. Someone on YouTube commented that Dee hits drums like they owe her money, and yeah, that’s the most apt description ever. They don’t call her the Goddess of Thunder for nothin’!
Seeing L7 for the first time was seriously one of the best nights of my life. I couldn’t hear for days, my body ached like nobodies business, and I didn’t give a shit. Totally and forever worth it.
I am linking their merch page as well as their Patron account for those inclined to support:
The band also just announced their first festival: The Fast & Frightening Fest November 23 in LA!!! So if you haven’t gotten a chance to experience the brain-melting head-banging magic that is L7. Don’t be a square, man!
What was your first L7 concert??