Politixia
On July 11, the Hook and Ladder Theater and Lounge in Minneapolis hosted the second edition of WTF! Fest (“Women, Trans, Femmes and Allies to the Front!”) across all of its indoor stages. The focus of the event was to support queer, trans, and femme punks in the Twin Cities area and to act as a fundraiser for Twin Cities Trans Mutual Aid. The evening was also a chance to voice both love of community and shared rage at the current state of the national state
The vibes from all the bands I was able to catch showed just that. While events like this sometimes lose their focus in an attempt to offer something for everyone, Mary Jam (trash punk), snakeworld! (synth pop punk?), Scrunchies (post-everything noise rock), and ET (darkwave synthpop) all kept things focused and propulsive. Styles varied, but the energy was focused and unrelenting in the best way, and there was plenty of moshing and grooving to be seen among the crowd. Though I regret I couldn’t catch the other acts, I have no doubt they built up the momentum that kept this entire show driven with passion and fury. The lineup included Spit Takes and Doll Chaser, who I wrote about for Spit Takes’ album launch show in May, as well as Momzilla, Ghosting Merit, DJ American Dog, and Critterthing. (¿Watches? was scheduled but unfortunately didn’t play.)
I have to say that ET in particular was a revelation. This darkwave duo brought a level of intensity to an electronic set that I have not seen for a while and somehow summons comparison to both Iggy Pop and early Skinny Puppy or Nitzer Ebb. With a clever blend of sex, sci-fi, and weirdo themes, they’re something many Twin Cities geekians should want to check out. I know I absolutely will search out future gigs.
WTF! Fest 2 was sponsored by Como Backdoor, Sappho’s Social Club, Whiplass Records, and Outta Wax.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings