The Julie Ruin pack the Troubadour for show six of Red Bull's #30daysinLA

With a packed house of riot grrrls, punks, feminists and just your usual suspects that come out for quality and meaningful music, Red Bull Sound Select was ready to roll out show #6 of its #30DaysinLA series. The evening’s headliner was The Julie Ruin and as expected, the show was sold-out. Let by the feminist punk icon, Kathleen Hanna, the Troubadour was busting from the seams with excited women. While there were plenty of men in attendance, it was clear that women ruled this show (on and off the stage).

Opening up the evening was NY’s Bad Girlfriend. The band led by a pack of long-haired women immediately set the good vibes for the night with their indie / shoegaze pop. While there wasn’t too much action on stage, Bad Girlfriend had the crowd crushing on their good looks and infectious vibes.

PHOTOS: Julie Ruin at the Echoplex

Up next were the Toronto quartet, Diana. Donning a wide brimmed black hat, lead singer Carmen Elle was pretty sassy when she first hit the stage. She noticed that crowd was not paying much attention and she made it clear that it was time for us to notice her, but she did that in a good way. Enchanting the crowd with smooth electro pop, Diana had a calming effect on the crowd. Which was kind of strange because shit was about to get real wild as soon as the anticipated headliner, The Julie Ruin hit the stage.

As the crowd waited in thick anticipation for their idol to hit the stage, Kathleen Hanna instead threw us all for a loop. Instead of bouncing about the stage with “Ha Ha Ha” or “Girls Like Us”, Hannah introduced a friend of hers who was a comedian. I can’t recall his name but he did a really great job. It was nice to loosen up with some laughs after the mellowing set from Diana.

After the comedic fun, Hanna and the rest of Julie Ruin came out. Hanna was dressed in a Black Flag t-shirt with her signature tights and black leotard. As soon as the first chord of “V.G.I.” hit the air, the crowd of girls went wild. I’ve never seen so many adult females in in awe of another women. I heard one girl say to her friend, “She (Hannah) puts out music that actually means something”, while another girl clutched onto her newly purchased The Julie Ruin vinyl. Playing songs like “Party City” “South Coast Plaza” and “Oh Come On”, was just the tip of the iceberg. The Julie Ruin even played a Bikini Kill favorite as part of their two-song encore (“This Is Not A Test”).

There was no mosh pit like you would see at most punk shows. Fans were just watching in pure amazement the icons that they looked up to as young adults. Singing along to nostalgic words as their fists pumped through the air and hair danced on their shoulders, The Julie Ruin gave fans at the Troubadour a performance they will treasure for a lifetime. They took “Girls Gone Wild” to an entire and more suitable meaning.

Check out our photo gallery below of The Julie Ruin at the Troubadour with Bad Girlfriend and Diana!

Photography: Wes Marsala

The Julie Ruin