The Julie Ruin Ends Tour Run In Los Angeles

Kathleen Hanna smiles out at the crowd as she bounces around the stage handing out set lists. “I wore my business outfit tonight.” she says. Dressed in a black and gold leotard accented with a touch of pink it’s time to go to work. The Julie Ruin is Hanna’s most recent project and serves as a step forward in her musical life, which was almost derailed by Lyme disease.

A pioneer of the riot-grrrl movement in the 90’s and perhaps best known for her frontwoman duties of the fiery punk band, Bikini Kill, Hanna is delighted to be back on stage. Her struggle with the long undiagnosed, and often misdiagnosed, disease provided a few years of turbulence. Now, she is ready to capitalize on her health.

Tonight she can do no wrong as shrieks ring throughout the moment the quintet takes the sold out Echoplex stage. The wrinkle in this evening’s performance, however, was the late addition of Alfredo Ortiz filling in for drummer, Carmine Covelli. Ortiz did percussion for the band a few nights before, but behind the skins it was stiff and a bit out of sorts when ending songs.

Whether it was guitarist, Sara Landeau, attempting to make eye contact with Ortiz as they ended with a thud on “Girls Like Us” or Kenny Mellman, keys and backup vocals, nodding at the drummer as they trudged through the Mellman song “South Coast Plaza” it makes one wonder; what happened to Covelli? It hardly seemed to matter to the audience though as they were enthralled with just the mere presence of punk rock’s Mother Superior.

It was a cover song that was the night’s biggest hit and when Hanna began singing the opening bars of Le Tigre’s “Eau D’ Bedroom Dancing” the floor exploded with sweaty limbs flailing in every which direction. Hanna explains that the song is about finding that “thing” that will rid you of that depressed feeling. It could be anything, but finding “it” is what will provide solace and a move toward inner peace.

Bikini Kill bandmate and bassist, Kathi Wilcox, shined on “Right Home” which found Wilcox’s driving low end at the song’s backbone while Mellman’s spaced out electro keys weaved together one of the set’s strongest efforts. The punky-60’s pop feel of “Oh Come On” rounded out the set, but not before returning for encore, “Run Fast.”

Overall, seeing Hanna in any capacity is a sheer pleasure as her magnetic presence and on stage earnestness oozes honesty, but next time we just hope Covelli is around to be behind the kit.

For more on The Julie Ruin go HERE.

Photo By Aliya Naumoff and Kathleen Hanna

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Ian Joulain

Somewhere between Sublime’s 40oz. to Freedom and Dr. Dre’s The Chronic something clicked inside a young Ian Joulain’s mind. His love for music had taken root and the only way to satiate this newfound passion was mass consumption of any and all genres. While gravitating toward punk rock, hip-hop, and jazz he discovered his distaste for pop-country, but blames that mostly on the excess of tractor and NASCAR mentions in the genre’s lyrics. That said, Joulain has never met a drink that was too stiff or a beach that he didn't like. He hopes to one day hug a koala and would love to ask Greg Ginn why he’s such a dick.