GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

MAY 5, 1995

Evenings Out

CRAIT

Queercore band Tribe 8 from San Francisco at the Grog Shop.

Reviewed by Victoria Korosi

nce upon a time, circa 1981, there existed a band of girls from Kent known as the Bettys. They were full of themselves and blatantly displayed their queerness for any and all to swallow hard. Not the greatest musicians, mind you, but even the new wave rag Trouser Press mourned the end of the Bettys' relatively short-lived career. Fourteen years later, welcome Tribe 8, with their hearts, minds, and tits firmly enmeshed in the scene of yesteryear, and an energy level also reminiscent of the early days.

Their concert on April 20 at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights could be viewed as a liberating experience of sorts, with lead singer Lynn Breedlove declaring at one point that all girls should feel free to take their shirts off and "any guy that gets a hard-on, we get to kick him in the balls."

Offended? For as many years that men have dominated nearly every aspect of the music industry, injecting sexism as the rule and not the exception, Tribe 8 righteously reclaims some lost ground.

Three songs into their set, Tribe 8 launched into what can only be described as shock-rock (Plasmatics maybe?) meets performance art. Equipped with strap-on dildo, Breedlove encouraged a male member of the audience to play out a scene described in the song "Romeo and Julio."

Although Tribe 8 does not align themselves with the "riot grrrl" movement that has successfully promoted other dyke and non-dyke bands as well, the tag certainly couldn't have hindered their career at this point.

In the case of the previously mentioned Bettys; the scene, as diverse as it was at the time, did not prove to be as welcoming of their openly-stated sexuality. Fourteen years later, it

Lead singer Lynn Breedlove

PHOTOS BY BARBARA BODEMER

seems to have worked to Tribe 8's favor. The majority of their music has a queer slant. Following up their first release, Fist City, could prove to be an insurmountable challenge. Tribe 8 closed the show with a song called "Manipulate," which clearly came off as a big "fuck-you" to the commonly perceived notion that all dykes are oh-so politically correct, both in and out of the bedroom.

It was definitely a night for women, as Cleveland's The Heathers and Columbus's Miss May 66 opened the noise-fest. Both bands carried a strong stage presence, but seemed lacking in the substance department.

The highlight of Miss May 66's set was a tune describing discrimination experienced as an Asian-American; the chorus was a banter between children teasing because of a different "look."