September 10, 1999
L7 still smelling magic live

TORONTO -- Small club shows and L7 are the perfect couple. To quote Jimmy Walker of 'Good Times' fame, this teaming was 'DY-NO-MITE!'

With enough energy pouring off the stage to bring down a B-52 bomber, Los Angeles all-girl rock act L7 spun their magic at the second of two sold-out nights at the tiny (but excellent setting) Rivoli club in Toronto's Queen Street West district. Sure it was hot and sweaty, but the throngs of savage L7 fans storming the stage and shouting out song lyrics wouldn't have had it any other way.

Starting off with the anthemic wails of "Andres" off of 1994's 'Hungry For Stink,' lead singers/guitarists Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner took the crowd by the hand, leading the charge onward with such classic cuts as "Just Like Me," "Shove," "Fast and Frightening" and "Monster." But it was the aggressive ways of "Drama" (off of 1997's 'The Beauty Process') and "Sh*tlist" (off of their breakthrough 1992 LP 'Bricks Are Heavy') that turned the already bumpy mosh pit into a frenzy. The security guards (poor bastards) looked as if they had seen a ghost when the pit erupted. Ah, the smell of Rock N' Roll rebellion.

Watching L7 live it's no wonder why they have been doing this for more than a decade. Drummer Dee Plakas is a monster behind the kit and newly added touring bass player Janis Tanaka mesh well, allowing the shrill of emotion the band has always managed to navigate by intact and frightfully charged up.

With the band's latest Lp 'Slap Happy' being their sixth record to date, the band's knack for melodic, gritty n' witty song writing seems to have shaped itself into a strong source of material. New cuts off of 'Slap Happy', while a little abstract and out there than their past material, fit quite nicely into tonight's set list. Rocker "On My Rockin' Machine" tore through the crowd, as did "Crackpot Baby" and the ultra-bizarre double-dosage of "Little One" and "Stick To The Plan."

If someone could bottle the energy and power of L7's performance tonight and somehow put it into the drinking water of every other average live rock band, then hopefully it would allow those bands to rock hard as L7 did tonight. It's that simple. Anyone taking notes? Anyone?

Hats off to the gals in L7, 'cause they came to rock out and that they did, leaving their die-hard fans battered and bruised craving more. Nobody does it better than L7.

JAM! Rating: 4.5 out of 5