The Kathleen Hanna Project @ Knitting Factory

Guess what I’ve been listening to non-stop for the past 24 hours? Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, and Julie Ruin. Guess why? Because I was one of the lucky few to score entry into the Kathleen Hanna tribute show and documentary taping that took place at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn the other night. The in-progress documentary is called  The Kathleen Hanna Project a.k.a Who Told You Christmas Wasn’t Cool, and if Saturday was any indication, it’s going to be amazing!

While waiting outside in the drizzle to get in to the venue, everyone took note of the signs taped to the windows and front door alerting all to the fact that once inside, you gave consent to be videotaped. Sini Anderson, known most for her work with Sister Spit, had a very organized crew of camera women floating around taping the stage, and getting audience reactions. For the first twenty minutes or so of the show, Anderson had the audience do some dances, and various displays of “freaking out” which she taped for filler in the documentary. I was dancing and waving my hands all over the place during this part, cuz you KNOW I wanna be in that shit.

The concert part of the evening consisted of bunch of bands coming to the stage to perform a selected song from a Kathleen Hanna project. 

Kaia Wilson from Team Dresch sang a slow jam.

Kathleen Hanna’s hubby, Adam Horovitz, performed with Bridget Everett. 

Bridget Everett ended her performance by striping down to her bra and panties and flopping to the ground. 

Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth came up and read from Hanna’s Riot Grrrl Manifesto. I thought I was gonna shit my pants at this point. Gordon’s husband, Thurston Moore, was seen towering over everyone in the audience, beaming at the stage in loving support. 

Prior to Gordon’s reading, her daughter Coco performed an awe inspiring version of “Rebel Girl” with her band She Murders. 

JD Samson brought MEN to the stage to give tribute to their former Le Tigre partner in beats.

For the grand finale, following a hilarious intro by Murray Hill, Kathleen ended the night with a brief performance by her new project, The Julie Ruin. The Julie Ruin (which features Bikini Kill band mate Kathi Wilcox!!!) played mostly the hits, but did give us a taste of one new song from a new album that’s in the works. 

Amazing!

If anyone has a complete list of the songs that each artist sang that night, post them in the comments and I’ll send you a treat in the mailbox.

Also, check out this video of Kim Gordon reading the Riot Grrrl Manifesto, filmed by Allison Michael Orenstein more videos to see here.