VAG HALEN at Smiling Buddha, Friday, October 2. Rating: NNNN
“All bitches on stage. All bitches playing music. All bitches playing bitches’ music.”
It was the rallying cry of frontwoman Vanessa Dunn, but it also succinctly summed up ‘Vag Halen presents…womyn wimmin women!’ For the beloved cock-rock cover band’s first women-only set, instead of channeling Axl Rose, Ozzy Osbourne and Robert Plant, Dunn turned into Courtney Love, PJ Harvey and Joan Jett.
The band opened the sold-out show with a pitch-perfect rendition of Liz Phair’s slow, sexy anthem, Flower, before launching into the wilder, heavier songs of rock and roll’s founding mothers. In a dead-on take of L7, the nearly all-female crowd screamed alongside Dunn as she growled, “You’ve made my shitlist!” and when she gyrated and writhed during The Runaways’ Cherry Bomb, the crowd followed suit, albeit without the same racy reckless abandon. Yet while Dunn is clearly the most hypnotizing to watch, the rest of the band provides the frontwoman with the flawless backdrop into which she can transform into some of her feminist idols.
By the end of the night, the crowd was sweaty, Dunn was topless, and we all left humming Hole. For those of you who are experiencing serious post-FOMO – don’t worry. Vag Halen is playing an encore performance tonight (October 3) at Smiling Buddha.
music@nowtoronto.com | @SamEdwardsTO
