Audio By Carbonatix
Kathleen Hanna began fronting Bikini Kill in the early ’90s when America was coming off a 12-year run of red-state, top-down politics. When Oregon and Washington had become unlikely musical epicenters. And when Americans were obsessed with Murphy Brown, grunge and pubic hairs in Coke cans. Yup, it was a weird time, especially for women caught in the multi-decade lag between second- and third-wave feminism. Still, a few female musicians were changing things, from the bigger rising names — Kim Gordon and Courtney Love — to the extreme DIY tactics of Kathleen Hanna, the rest of Bikini Kill and the riot grrrl manifesto they spat. It was a huge deal, seeing these women express themselves, unapologetically baring their bodies and their brains to wipe the sweat evenly across the Pacific Northwest’s live music scene. But what happened to Hanna? After follow-up project Le Tigre’s success in the aughts, she dipped out. There’s a new doc that’s set to adjust what you know of punk’s favorite lead vocalist, her hard-wrung message and her current state. It’s called The Punk Singer, and it’s playing at the Texas Theatre (231 W. Jefferson Blvd.) all weekend long. Friday night’s debut screening comes with a little something extra: a short punk set by Girls Rock Camp’s Sparkle Revolution. C’mon, girls to the front. DJ set and punk show starts at 9 p.m. and the film screens at 9:40 p.m. Visit thetexastheatre.com. Tickets cost $10.
Dec. 20-22, 2013
