Le Tigre Return to Baltimore to Shake Things Up

“We wrote this around George Bush Jr time, and the lyrics are more relevant to what’s happening now than they were then,” Kathleen Hanna, singer of the dance punk trio Le Tigre told a sold-out crowd at the Baltimore Soundstage Wednesday night. “ I’m just saying it’s fucking weird… and awful.” Of all the recent reunion tours in the last handful of years, the one that felt both unexpected but at the same moment perfect for this time was Le Tigre reuniting and its current tour.

The instantly danceable earworms of the band’s three full-length albums are replete with feminist anthems that offer up responses to attacks on the rights of minorities, women, and LGBT and gender non-conforming persons. And that’s exactly what is needed in a year that seems rife with hateful rhetoric from popular media to governmental politics.

The band, which consists of singer Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Julie Ruin), JD Samson (percussion, guitar, sampler), and Johanna Fateman (guitar, vocals) hit the scene in the late 90’s with an energy that was infectious. Now, 18 years later that same energy hasn’t dwindled one bit. Although each of the three had gone in varied directions (JD started teaching as a college professor; Johanna became an art critic; and Kathleen focused on other musical projects), seeing them back on stage, not missing a beat, felt like things were where they were supposed to be.

After a fun set by Erin Markey, Le Tigre hit the stage to the beat of “The the Empty,” and the capacity crowd seemed to all scream at once. And although the stage seemed large, Hanna, Samson, and Fateman made it feel smaller as they ran, danced, and shook from one side to the next. It was clear that there was no slowing down once this train got started.

As Hanna told the crowd, as images and patterns danced along the screen behind the stage, “We’re lucky enough to have words up on the screen” has she ushered the audience to sing along to “On the Verge”’s A-O-A-O do it so right / A-O-A-O do it tonight.

After a brief break with a musical interlude of “Get Off the Internet,” the trio returned to the stage dressed in matching black and white uniforms to perform “Yr Critique.” And it was something special to hear everyone in the audience singing all of the words to “My My Metrocard,” as the words flashed up on the screen.

And after a set that left fans wanting more, Le Tigre returned to play an encore of “Phanta” and the ever popular “Deceptacon.” This was a great, but short, set that gives me hope for more Le Tigre in the near future. Le Tigre continues their tour through the Summer.

The setlist included:

The the Empty
TKO
F.Y.R.
What’s Yr Take on Cassavetes
Hot Topic
Mediocrity Rules
Shred A
On the Verge
Seconds
Get Off the Internet
Yr Critique
On Guard
My My Metrocard
Viz
Keep on Livin’
Eau d’Bedroom Dancing

Encore:
Phanta
Deceptacon

Here are more photos of Le Tigre at the Baltimore Soundstage July 19, 2023. All photos by David LaMason.