Bikini Kill, McMenamins Crystal Ballroom, September 7, 2026

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Riot Grrrl icons Bikini Kill graced the Crystal Ballroom stage last week. They brought their brand of assertive rock and roll to a captive audience eager to dance, reminisce, and bask in their political views.

The show had a deep Portland connection with The Intima opening the show. The band played a mix of discordant and rhythmic rock with a post punk stilt. The music, employing Andrew Neerman’s vocal and guitar riffs and brother Alex’s pulsating drums benefited by elegance of Sam Klapper’s violin and Erika Elizabet’s bass as some songs tastefully veered into temporary chaos.

The Lloyd Center

Then Bikini Kill took to the stage with lead singer (and Portland born feminist icon) Kathleen Hanna making several overtures regarding the recent closure of the city’s beleagueredmall Lloyd Center and its ice rink. Hanna had an especially tenuous mention of former ice skater and Portlander, Tonya Harding. Hanna seemed to suggest it was in poor taste to criticize another women, but given Harding’s past infamous scandals, the crowd didn’t seem to mind. Hanna went on to applaud the times in the evening when some in the audience decided to crowd surf on this a Sunday evening.

The band proceeded to tear into a dizzying number of classic songs the swagger of seasoned professionals. The sold out crowd was a mix of goth babes, aging punks and dads with their kids eager to show them what punk music was like in the pre Internet dawn.

Bikini Kill ended the evening with a crowd favorite and Riot Grrrl anthem, Rebel Girl, Lyrics such as “When she talks, I hear the revolution / In her kiss, I taste the revolution” are delicious reminders of the 90s movement and how that moment feels so far away, yet so needed in the culture given our divisive politics.

Bikini Kill took to the stage confident in their music and their history of arguing for inclusivity. The crowd enjoyed the quartet’s brashness, politics, and most importantly the chance to relish in music if only to forget for a moment these uncertain times.