 April 22, 2004 The Queercore Blitz tour unites like-minded punks. by M.J. Fine If you’re willing and able to travel, queer music showcases aren’t hard to find. Peace Out East brings gay hip-hop to New York in July; a week later, the 30th National Women’s Music Festival -- the grandma of lesbian folk fests -- goes down in Ohio. In August, Olympia's Homo A Gogo gets The Butchies, Nomy Lamm, Mirah and a one-off Team Dresch reunion, while Erase Errata and Ani DiFranco play to the XX-chromosomed at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. And for those with more fluid desires, the next six months abound with Ladyfests in Columbus, Copenhagen, New York, Richmond, San Francisco, Seattle, Stockholm, Texas (Austin and Denton) and Vienna. But if you're holding out for the outpunk circus to come to town, Queercore Blitz is it. The tour's East Coast lineup -- Davies vs. Dresch, BoySkout, Triple Creme, The Kitty Kill, The Dead Betties and Gina Young + The Bent -- hits the Pontiac on Saturday. BoySkout's hyper, keyboard-driven new wave is as far from Triple Creme's high-pitched, lo-fi indie rock as it is from Young's flirtatious taunts, but beyond their sexual identity, a brash sound and riot-grrrl-influenced aesthetic connects them. "What feels really important to us is the creation of community," BoySkout singer-guitarist Leslie Satterfield says over e-mail. Jen Chouinard, The Kitty Kill's drummer, adds, " We create a space that connects people who maybe wouldn't be able to connect or feel represented otherwise." That connection can be a mixed blessing. "It's good because I get to be around people that are doing things I find interesting artistically and politically," says The Kitty Kill's bassist, Jenn Dagger. "The downside is people have preconceived notions on how you're supposed to act or 'be' that sometimes you don't fit into." Team Dresch’s debut, Personal Best, is one of the most influential punk rock albums of the 1990s -- not to mention a high point of queercore and riot grrrl -- so it’s no surprise that all eyes are on guitarist Donna Dresch’s new band. But Davies vs. Dresch wasn’t always on the bill. "Our friends The Haggard were originally going to play, but they couldn’t do it, so we stepped in," drummer Caitlin Love says. "We’re on the tour by default." Dresch and singer-guitarist Kristina Davies started playing in August with former Bikini Kill drummer Tobi Vail (and later Team Dresch’s Jody Bleyle) before hooking up with Love at a benefit for the Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls. Saturday’s show will be the Portland, Ore., band’s 15th gig. And if Dresch can keep up the pop-punk punch of "My Friend Is My Hairstylist," her guitar-hero reputation is safe. Speaking of hairstylists, where are the boys? "What about Judas Priest, Hüsker Dü, Wipers, Queen, Pansy Division, Propagandhi, Sparkmarker, The Smiths, George Michael, Elton John, Culture Club and The Dead Betties?" Love asks. What about them? It’s telling that of the dozen artists she namechecks, only one is active in the queercore movement. As the only men on the bill, The Dead Betties should have a leg up. Instead, the New York trio is the most forgettable. At best, bassist Joshua Ackley comes off like a hard-rock Morrissey fronting a mediocre bar band; in lesser moments, he sounds like a million other post-punk whiners. It all comes back to the music. Love’s list aside, George Michael, Elton John and Culture Club are no more queercore than Melissa Etheridge or k.d. lang. Or, for that matter, the Indigo Girls. No, they’re not queercore by any stretch, but Amy Ray would make any list of lesbian music heroines. When she’s not restrained by Emily Saliers’ folkier tendencies, Ray rocks out with the best of them. And the voice in her head probably sounds a lot like Sandrine Merhy’s. Merhy, The Kitty Kill’s lead singer and guitarist, lays her brooding, butch voice atop Dagger’s melodic bass lines and backing vocals. But she doesn’t share Ray’s songwriting agenda. "I never sit down and think of what kind of song I’m going to write or what type of message I’m trying to get across to people," Merhy says. "What comes out comes out. Mostly when I’m playing, whether it be by myself or in the band, it’s an escape thing -- a way for me to just forget everything that is going on around me. Music has always been that outlet for me. Even as a kid, I would come home from school upset about something and go straight to the piano." Dagger concurs. " I'm more 'political' in my personal life than in my band," she says. "We play all kinds of benefits and stuff as a form of activism, but I think our band is mostly about the music. If people get a 'the personal is political' thing out of it, that's cool with me, but it's not specifically our intention." Sat., April 24, 8 p.m., $10, Pontiac Grille, 304 South St., 215-925-4053, www.pontiacgrille.com. | |||||||||||||||||||