Bikini Kill is a pioneering female-led punk band with call-to-action lyrics that have touched generations, binding feminism, punk, and activism. The four piece band is composed of Kathleen Hanna (vocals), Sara Landeau (guitar), Kathi Wilcox (bass), and Tobi Vail (drums). Bikini Kill’s music is characterized by fast-paced songs with reverb-soaked guitar riffs backed by anchored bass lines and drums. Decades after their start, Bikini Kill still draws sold-out crowds of thousands of people, their ethos staying relevant even today.

Bikini Kill’s first night at the Brooklyn Paramount was sold-out. The crowd in the grand ballroom stretched from end-to-end, people taking their places over an hour before Bikini Kill was set to go on. The line for merchandise continuously stayed hundreds of people long, almost never ending. Before the show, fans' dedication to the band was visible by their unwavering support.

The house music cut out as Bikini Kill walked out onto the stage. There wasn’t a single person silent in the venue. Hanna went up to the mic and with a smile on her face said, “Hi, nice to see you!” Each band member made their way to grab their instruments, wrapping a strap around their neck, the instrument hanging down in front of their body waiting to be played. “Wow,” Hanna says as the house lights rose to reveal the crowd. She stood in front of the mic for a moment and took in the sold-out crowd. “Wow. We're Bikini Kill!” Hanna counted into the first song, “New Radio.”

Immediately, a sea of hands was in the air, all the people moving towards the front of the stage in the low lighting made it look like waves. During the chorus people threw their hands up in the air collectively to the beat. In typical Bikini Kill fashion, Hanna was leading the energy that ricocheted between the stage and the crowd. She danced and paced to each side of the stage, rallying the crowd as she moved.

“Sometimes you just can’t speak rational reason to people who are just absolutely fucking facists. And we all get sick of explaining and explaining,” Hanna says into the mic facing directly towards the audience. “Although it's important, sometimes, when we have that energy and it's someone we love. But this [song] is about it being ok for nonsense to be nonsense.” Vail and Hanna start off “This Is Not A Test,” Wilcox and Landeau synching their parts with the drum beat, Hanna seamlessly singing ascending and descending notes.

“When we first started, we didn’t believe that this many people would come see us play. And we are extremely fortunate to be a band of women in our 50’s and have people showing up to support them. Not that you shouldn't, but a lot of time youth prevails and once you’re past 30, 31, 32, it’s like, ‘yeah, seen it.’”

“Fuck that!” Someone in the audience yells during a brief pause between Hanna’s words. The crowd cheered at his comment as she began speaking again.

“We appreciate you for sticking with us, even those of you who just found out about us last week, welcome! We hope you make some friends at the show. When we first started, and throughout even now, a lot of times we get told that, you know, we’re not really musicians, we’re just activists.”

“Fuck that!” the same fan shouts again, as everyone in the crowd had the same loyalty.

“And first of all, I want to thank everybody who’s been protesting the genocide (in Gaza). It’s been so heartening to see people out on the streets, especially in New York City, and fighting the fucking fake charities that are sending money overseas to kill people. We love you so much, thank you. It makes what I’m saying really foolish, like it doesn’t matter, but I do feel like art matters.” A brief moment pauses as Hanna looks over at Landeau who kick starts, “Don’t Need You,” strumming the fast-paced guitar riff.

Several times throughout the show the band would take a moment after a song to rotate places on the stage. The first rotation brought Vail to the front of the stage, Hanna on bass, and Wilcox on drums, and Landeau stayed on guitar throughout the switch. Vail stood up at the front of the stage, her pink hair was vibrant under the stage lights and white sunglasses shielded her eyes, her classic look.

Throughout their set, the band played song-after-song in their short, fast-paced style. Some of the recognizable songs included, “Double Dare Ya,” “I Like Fucking,” and “Carnival.”

The crowd stayed just as supportive and engaged from the moment the band walked on stage to the moment they walked off. People towards the front of the stage held up posters, the center of the crowd moshed as heads could be seen bobbing up and down, and the only moment of silence was listening to either Hanna or Vail speak; otherwise someone was vocalizing their support.

“This song is called “Jigsaw Youth.” It’s our last song. I want to thank my bandmate Tobi Vail for writing the fanzine, “Jigsaw,” that changed my fucking life and made me feel like I wasn’t alone. Maybe you’ll write the thing on Instagram, or the fanzine, or the song that maybe only a couple people see, but it changes someone’s life and makes them feel less fucking gaslit by every fucking thing in this whole fucking world that’s always telling us we’re stupid and that we don’t deserve shit, and we should just shut the fuck up,” Hanna pauses as the audience cheers. “I’m not a kid anymore, but I go with the kids.”

Guitar reverb echoed throughout the ballroom as Landeau played the opening riff to “Jigsaw Youth,” the drums and bass joining in as Hanna sang the opening lyrics, “I can sell my body if I wanna.”

As the song ended, Hanna waved to the audience as the band quickly exited the stage together. Just when you think the audience couldn’t get any louder, the second the band stepped off stage a wall of noise prevailed, the audience beckoning Bikini Kill back to the stage.

Minutes later, the band walked back out from the shadows behind the curtain and into the spotlight. Hanna went right up to the mic and said sarcastically, “you knew we'd come back to play that song.”

Vail began the iconic drum beat that commences “Rebel Girl.” Every ounce of energy was put into reciprocating the energy back to Bikini Kill. The crowd was the most rowdy it had been the entire night, ending on a high note. Bikini Kill thanked the crowd, which applauded until they disappeared off the stage. The house lights illuminated the ballroom at Brooklyn Paramount as the sold-out crowd began to make its way out of the venue. There was one striking difference between this show and others: the female-dominated crowd.

There were people in the crowd of all ages, every decade represented and an even distribution of age, some older, some younger, and a mass of children with their parents spotted throughout the night. It was heartwarming to see that not only are female-dominated spaces possible, but that they still exist and can withstand decades of time. The sold-out female-dominated crowd spanning decades shows how powerful Bikini Kill is, and the influence they have had on people and culture.

Find Bikini Kill on Instagram, Spotify, and their website.

All photos by Alec Ilstrup.