Photo Gallery: Le Tigre • July 15 • Chicago

Brassneck | July 16, 2023

Le Tigre
The Salt Shed
Chicago, IL
July 15, 2023

Recap and photos by Curt Baran

If the revolution isn’t going to be televised, at least Le Tigre has made certain its soundtrack will be danceable. Rising from the ashes of Bikini Kill, Kathleen Hanna left minimalist punk rock in her rearview mirror to find a groove. Although her left-leaning politics remained, her new attitude seemed to be if the world is going to implode, let’s at least find the orbit of our hips before it happens.

Le Tigre is the second project she’s removed from the mothballs this year (Bikini Kill was also reanimated for a tour as well). Both bands certainly share righteous criticisms aimed at government, misogyny, gay rights, and anything else right-leaning politicians and judges have tried (and succeeded) to strip away.

So, that means that Le Tigre are more applicable today than they were when they packed it in back in 2007. Their current tour landed them at The Salt Shed Saturday, and although their relevance is sharper than ever, the band kept things surprisingly light. Bouncing through punk-disco moments like “What’s Yr Take On Cassavetes,” “TKO,” “Hot Topic,” and “My Art,”

Hanna kept the preaching to a minimum, letting music and togetherness lead the charge. Woody Guthrie once scribbled “This machine kills fascists” on an acoustic guitar. Alongside a drum machine and deep grooves, Le Tigre chose the same instrument as their weapon of choice.