Friday 23/05/03 The Suffrajets, Hooker, Katastrophy Wife @ The Slaughterhouse, Liverpool

Remember Cassandra’s band in Wayne’s World? Imagine if they’d been a brilliantly energetic cross between riot grrl, thrash metal and angular indie punk. The Suffrajets are a brand new London-based band who bridge the gap between all these bands and more. The singer’s voice exists somewhere on the line between Courtney Love and Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker, and during the ballads, the band even sound like Tucker’s brilliant old band Heavens To Betsy. Angus Yound-esque solos a-plenty render the term ‘cock rock’ entirely obsolete, and this all-girl four-piece ooze confidence, skill, and most importantly, tunes. There’s a single out on Sony later this year.< Zang!>

By this stage, this hack is starting to feel slightly inferior at the very thought of posessing a y chromosome, and pondering the notion that maybe Valerie Solanos was right, when Hooker take to the stage. Quite simply, they’re one of the best riot grrl bands you will ever see in your life, somehow managing to sound like an improved version of Bikini Kill, significantly without (whisper it) the bits that make Bikini Kill a bit boring sometimes. Vocalist Zoe’s voice is truly wondrous, and the vastly entertaining spectacle that is drummer Danny is somewhat akin to watching a very loud and very interesting metronome. With a snarly face. Complaints? Well, the bass player’s too tall, but that’s about it. Hooker rock. Fact.

Finally...Kat Bjelland of Katastrophy Wife turned down the chance to join her former bandmate Courntey Love’s oft-mooted supergroup Bastard, and on this evidence Courtney’s loss has proven to be rock’s gain. It’s pretty easy, and a commonplace lazy comment, to say that grrl rock bands sound like Babes In Toyland, but here it’s justified for once, since Bjelland was actually in them. Backed by two jobbing riotbloke Proper Musicians, Kat still delivers a full-on intensityfest. Although she appears to have been posessed by the ghost of the prima donna by demanding the bouncers bring her a towel. Be fair, lady, they do their job, you do yours. And bring your own sodding towel, for ****’s sake. Rock stars, huh?

A rendition of the BIT classic Bruise Violet is unexpected, but abso-****ing-lutely top notch, as the small crowd of middle-aged men, hardcore kids and indie girls will attest, and the closing duet between Bjelland and Hooker’s Zoe is ****ing mental, like watching two girls having a screaming contest at a Helmet gig. As they alternate verses, sharing a mic and a cigarette between them, it’s almost like watching a baton being passed on, from the old generation to the next. Let’s hope that Hooker and The Suffrajets can take grrly rock into the future.

Photos by Sean Bickerton :: sean.bickerton@gigwise.com