Any mention of Le Tigre is inevitably followed by some incarnation of the sentence “featuring Kathleen Hanna, former frontwoman of Bikini Kill”, which unfairly predestines the electro-candy-punk trio as Riot Grrrl throwbacks. Hanna has a sensational, oriental-tinged thrill of a voice on her, seemingly fuelled by a deep-seated dissatisfaction with the sluggish progress of equal rights. When she is at the mic, you cannot fail to stand up and take action, even if it is to flail your arms wildly. And then there was the not-so-secret ingredient to a stunning live concert. A giant, slightly sagging white backdrop. Projections of modern art, photos of influential women through the ages, footage of human rights protests, singalong lyrics, animations, music videos. Each song, from On the Verge to Deceptecon, was fleshed out and three-dimensionalised by a cavalcade of tailor-made music videos, impeccably synchronised and eye-burningly kitsch. I could imagine them all being filmed and edited at Le Tigre HQ, squeezed in between gigging, marching and songwriting. Le Tigre are revolutionaries. Perhaps some might have found the shiny pink costumes, the synchronised dancing, the drum machines and the constant instrument swapping a little gimmicky, but it constantly demanded attention, even if it was imperfect. As guitarist/bassist/singer Johanna Fateman said: "It's better to take risks and f**k up, look corny or foolish than to just kind of coast along with formulaic approaches to cultural production." Enough said. |
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natalie cresswell init
ye they r well gd hopefully they r at leeds. the best part was when they played deceptacon. hell yeah!
trixie
jd is now my hero!it was a really good gig!wo hoo!
Caz
wow they're pretty good!Great to see a group who speak out about what they really think,'Nanny nanny boo boo' and 'TKO' are such amazing songs.
choda
umm jd isnt a boy....shes a girl just thought id let u know
kt
maybe you didn't know there was a guy in the band cuz there isn't, have your eyeballs checked she is a girl.
kk
ther isn't a boy in the band!
lisa
yeya! u kno le tigre kicked bum! :D
Ian Cheetham, Belle Vue
'Le Tigre'? 'petit chat' more like! What a load of rubbish. This annoying arty group of students think that dressing in stupid clothes and changing their instruments every two seconds can make up for boring songs. Well it can't. There was no roar form this tiger, and hardly even a miaow. Go back to your course work kids and leave gigging to people a little bit harder than you.
Paul
didn't know there was a boy in the band till I got to the gig, he had a top voice. The gig was great fun with an edge
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