Bikini Kill Makes Well-Anticipated Return To Toronto

Bikini Kill is a band that has gone down in punk history. Whether it was their pioneering of the riot grrrl movement, their awesome outfits, or loud, in-your-face music about feminism, liberation and politics, ask any punk who Bikini Kill is and they'll know. On September 3rd, the four piece composed of Kathleen Hanna (lead vocals, bass), Tobi Vail (drums, occasional lead vocals), Kathi Wilcox (bass, backing vocals, guitar, drums) and Sara Landeau (touring guitar) graced the stage at History in Toronto, supported by The Retail Simps.

At 7:30, The Retail Simps, a punk rock band from Montreal arrived on stage. Their energetic, explosive music made for a perfect prelude to Bikini Kill, as their overall sound was very similar to that of Bikini Kill's. Nicely distorted punk vocals and heavy guitars were delivered with grace from lead vocalist Joe Chamandy, and helping him out with the punk rock power chords was guitarist Chris Burns. Drummer Zakary Slax laid down powerful, driven beats all through their set, with bassist Obediah Anderson. Thomas Molander provided an interesting addition to the band, a keyboard, which isn't something normally seen within a punk rock band. The Retail Simps played their Quebecois hearts out, generating excitement from the crowd that would leave a long lasting impression on fans.

Keep up with The Retail Simps: Spotify

Finally, it was time for Bikini Kill to take over the stage with their powerful themes and songs that were louder than all hell. Fans cheered as the members ran out on stage, some even showing off the writing on their hands that spelled out "riot girl". With a huge smile, lead vocalist Kathleen Hanna welcomed Bikini Kill to the stage and thanked their Canadian crowd before diving right into their first song of the night, Statement of Vindiction.

Don't let their colourful outfits fool you; Bikini Kill delivered a performance that brought back the classic, anti-authoritarian energy from back in the 70s, 80s and 90s with songs like Demi Rep, This Is Not A Test and Don't Need You. Hanna would stop to thank Toronto for showing up and went on to mention some of her favourite Canadian filmmakers and directors who inspired her when creating her art, or whom she generally found inspiring to her.

Throughout the rest of their set, Bikini Kill brought out classic songs such as Double Dare Ya, Carnival and New Radio. With the nature of their shorter songs, the band was able to include more and more songs in their setlist, with songs like I Like Fucking, Hamster Baby, Alien She, and Reject All American.

Through there were many songs played, Hanna still made it a point to speak to the audience, speaking on topics of acceptance, showing her and the band's support for women, minorities and the LGBTQ+ community. A display of truly punk values; being who you are and supporting others, and going against the norm. All while smashing boundaries and pre-conceived notions.

Partway through the set, musical responsibilities would switch. Hanna would move to play bass, Vail would move from behind her drumset and come to the front of the stage to do lead vocals and Wilcox would replace Vail at the drums. Vail would sing a few songs before the band would rotate back to their original postions. This would happen one more time within the main set.

Bikini Kill performed more killer songs such as Resist Psychic Death, Alien She, Capri Pants and Jigsaw Youth, with many mosh pits opening in the crowd. The main set would close off with the very aptly named Finale.

After enthusiastic calls back to the stage from the crowd, Bikini Kill came back for their encore. Before performing Suck My Left One, Hanna shared the inspiration behind the song, which was a phrase Hanna's sister said to a man who was harassing her on the train back home. Hanna told the crowd to not take any "bullshit from anyone who says that you should smile more."

After a powerful and energetic performance the band would play their final song of the night, which was, you guessed it, the ever-famous Rebel Girl. The song brought forward many crowdsurfers and moshers, bringing the already energetic night to a close as Bikini Kill thanked the crowd and left an impression that wasn't soon to be forgotten.