Photos and Review by Chris Besaw
It’s hard to imagine that the height of the 90’s music scene was over 30 years ago, you know, a music industry primarily dominated by male centric bands, Nirvana and Pantera, to name a few. Even though the media was focused on those bands at the time, there were certainly some incredible female fronted bands that could blow the beforementioned right off the stage. One of those groups is the original female thrash band from Los Angeles, L7.
Starting off the evening was another female punk legend, the intense and fiery Gina Volpe. Gina Volpe one of the original founding members of another iconic all female punk band, the Lunachicks, kicked off the evening at Empire Live in Albany, New York. Volpe who is currently on tour supporting her current solo album Delete the World kicked off her set with the bass heavy track “Time to Come.” The crowd at Empire Live had no trouble getting into it. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I must say their set was incredible! Gina and the band did a fantastic job connecting with the fans all while having a blast onstage.
Some of the tracks Gina and company performed that were especially notable include, “Drink Me,” a fun, high energy, and pop punk tune. Another one I really enjoyed was “Escape from the Lab.” I mean as soon as you heard the heavy pounding bass lines and the gritty guitar kick in, it was no wonder the crowd was dancing and jumping around. Honestly for the first-time seeing Gina solo was a great way to start the show. If you have the chance to see her and the band live, I suggest it.
As the dust was still settling from Gina Volpe’s set you could feel the intensity of the excitement building in the crowded venue as fans were eagerly awaiting the headliner, L7! L7 has been stomping and thrashing audiences and stages for close to 40 years and tonight was no exception! Donita, Suzy, Jennifer, and Demetra took the stage kicking off their set with a solid classic track, “Deathwish” off their second album Smell the Magic. L7 didn’t give the audience a chance to calm down before they ripped right into another heavy classic, “Andres.” By that time, the crowd was into it, singing and dancing along with the band. I love seeing L7 live. They always put on an awesome show.
Donita, Demetra, Suzy, and Jennifer pounded out an amazing twenty-one song set list and encore incorporating songs from some of their best albums like Smell the Magic, Bricks are Heavy, Hungry for Stink, and their recent release Scatter the Rats. Just look at the set list. How could you not enjoy this show? After an amazing near two-hour long set, L7 thanked the crowd expressing that without all the support they wouldn’t be up there playing, before they left the fans at Empire Live with the final song of the evening, “Fast and Frightening.”
After all these years, L7 has shown us once again why they have withstood the test of time, cranking out great music and live shows! Thank you for another incredible show, please enjoy some photo highlights from the show!
Setlist
Deathwish
Andres
Everglade
Mr. Integrity
Uncle Bob
(opening and first verse only while they fixed Suzie’s audio issues)
Shove
Stadium West
One More Thing
Scrap
Slide
Fighting the Crave
Human
Bad Things
Monster
Fuel My Fire
Non-Existent Patricia
Freak Magnet
Dispatch From Mar-a-Lago
Wargasm
Pretend We’re Dead
Shitlist
Encore:
Scatter the Rats
Fast and Frightening
