Wild Flag at the Electric Ballroom

Wild Flag

Peggy Sue

Electric Ballroom, February 1, 2012

Thinking back, one of the best things about the 90s was all the fantastic girl bands there were. I'm not talking about the Spice Girls, although they had their positive points too I admit, but mainly the grunge scene and the riot grrl movement. There were so many amazing women who played their own instruments, wrote their own songs and rocked as hard as the boys, to inspire and look up to. I actually feel very lucky in that respect. These women weren't just exceptions to the rule or the sole girl fronting a bunch of men, they were integral to the scene and were different and varied from L7 to Hole to Luscious Jackson to Belly. Now, while there are many wonderful female singer-songwriters, there seems to be a dearth of female rockers, especially those raised on punk music, so I guess it makes sense that probably the best girl group to come along in years, Wild Flag, is born out of the 90s, with members of Sleater-Kinney, Helium and The Minders.

Not surprisingly, as someone who grew up with riot grrl and those great 90s girl groups, I was really looking forward to this gig partly because I haven't been to a loud rock gig in ages and partly because their album was my favourite of last year, so I actually turned up fairly early (well, around the time the doors opened) and secured a cool spot in front of the stage.

The opening act, Peggy Sue, I have actually seen before, supporting Alela Diane last year. They were good, I described them at the time as folk with a punk attitude, but tonight they seem louder, angrier, rockier, happier perhaps because they've been out on tour with Wild Flag. They feel like they embody that riot grrl spirit, with distorted guitars, tribal drums and menacing harmonies. I absolutely love how the two girls look too, one skinny and tomboyish and the other curvy and glam. Both times I've seen them now has been different and fun, they are definitely a band going places.

But the main event is Wild Flag and it is without doubt exciting to finally see them emerge on to the Electric Ballroom stage. Even though I loved both Sleater-Kinney and Helium for reason I never actually saw either live, which is plain stupid of me really, but this show definitely compensated for that fact. Carrie Brownstein is sort of the epitome of cool but pretty tomboy, looking strikingly slim and angular, while Mary Timony is beautifully awkward and cool in her lace top, groovy patterned tights and shorts. At that moment of seeing them strap on their guitars, I revert back to a teenager and I want to be them so bad, they look so cool and powerful.

The set, of course, is mainly drawn from their debut album, with a few covers and rather excitingly, a bunch of new tunes too. Starting off with Black Tiles, with Mary and Carrie alternating on lead, the song ends with the pair also exchanging cool guitar licks. The whole gig is as fun to watch as it is to hear, with Timony and Brownstein jumping around and posturing as good as any rock god. It's pretty clear there is as much old school rock and roll in their hearts as punk rock and it makes for an electrifying show.

Carrie is the most talkative of the band, telling us she had been getting the feel for Britain by listening to PJ Harvey and reading Stephen Fry and another time admitting she had knocked water all over her amp in an "amateur move". That of course didn't stop the show and one of the absolute highlights had to be their ode to loving music, rather appropriately, the single Romance with Carrie screaming "we love the sound, the sound is what found us" with a contagious passion that makes us feel and relate to every word.

The show ends with two surprise covers, a fantastic version of Television's See No Evil sung by Timony and then Brownstein taking over and abandoning her microphone for a thrilling take on Patti Smith's Ask The Angels. Strutting and jumping around the stage she actually even breaks the microphone at one point but quickly grabs Timony's and the song ends with them both on the floor as drummer Janet Weiss and keyboardist Rebecca Cole drove the rhythm along until the whole thing ended in an exhilarating wall of feedback.

This is the kind of gig that inspires new bands to form. I really think Wild Flag are one of the most exciting rock bands around today. I can't wait to see them again.