Squat

(No support band)

Zurich Rote Fabrik

11th March 1997

First I'll talk about the venue, before the band, since I've never been to a place like this before!

The part we went to was kind of cross restaurant/bar, with tables and chairs, and a small stage in one corner of the room. It was fairly busy, with most of the tables occupied by people eating, drinking, smoking, skinning up * , and playing board games and cards!

Then as it gets close to the time when the band are going to start people, start clearing away the tables and chairs immediately in front of the stage, and collect your money. **

Unfortunately for us and the band, we had to watch the 4 girls from this San Francisco punk band tune up, and sound check. Obviously this got the crowd restless, who wanted them to get on with it!

So at about 10:30pm I think it was they started, and admittedly the sound quality wasn't that great, but I couldn't help thinking of college bands covering Nirvana/Hole/L7 etc.

In short, they were just another American girl punk band, with the singers just yelling about whatever into the microphone over very average punk/grunge. I must have seen/heard this sort of thing a billion times before, although towards the end they did an instrumental which was great, although I'm not sure if singing would have ruined it, or they would have been better if more of the songs had sounded like this!

So basically 4 noisy girls, who would appeal to "Riot Girl" freaks, but in all fairness they are hardly going to set the world alight, when Lunachicks, Babes in Toyland, and Hole, are already doing this sort of thing, but a hell of a lot better, and with more imagination!

* (although not in the last 3 rows of tables and chairs which are exclusively for those eating proper meals, the actual signs on the table says(rough translation) "Please do not use these tables for skinning up"!)Also see my page about life in Zurich

** (This gig cost 8SwF, about 3.50ukp which is incredibly cheap in Zurich! Although I don't know if that is a normal price for bands, at this venue, since this band is more or less unknown, but more well known acts such as Young Gods (who are Swiss incidently), and Jesus Lizard(who are well worth seeing) have also played here)


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