Return of the Vivian Girls

VIVIAN GIRLS

THE TAVERN, VENTURA

03 OCTOBER, 2019

Vivian Girls are back in business, kicking off their reunion tour with a warmup gig at The Tavern in Ventura, before their official start at the Regent Theater in LA on 10/4. It’s the classic lineup of Cassie Ramone, Katie Goodman, and Ali Koehler that have reconvened for their first action since their 2014 going away shows. Coming together in secret last year, they recorded a new LP, Memory, that's every bit the equal of their small but storied catalogue. Polyvinyl has also remastered/rereleased the first two LP's.

Whatever nervousness they betrayed was blown away by a diverse set, touching on all their work. "The End" and the new "Something To Do" stood out among the high points, and they ended a brief encore with a rousing "No", blowing out the dust in a big way. With most of the band settled into families, it's hard to tell what this portends for the future, but at the moment, it's just nice to have the Vivian Girls back where they belong.

Revenge of Grrrls On Film

REVENGE OF GRRRLS ON FILM

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY

MARINA DEL REY, CA

14 SEPTEMBER, 2019

A scenic diversion to Marina Del Rey, on the campus of Loyola Marymount University, provided our weekend action with Revenge of Grrrls On Film, the followup to 2016's Grrrls On Film Festival. This edition kicked off with a screening of the Gina Burch/Helen McCookerybook documentary, Stories From The She Punks, setting the table for a panel discussion moderated by Evelyn McDonnell (Women Who Rock, LMU faculty), featuring Vivien Goldman (whose Revenge of the She-Punks  serves as a launch pad), plus Alice Bag (The Bags, Violence Girl), Sandra Iszadore (Fela Kuti) and Drew Arriola Sands (Trap Girl). The night culminated with a showing of Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains.