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Well, I must tell you last night at the Slipper Room, normally a showcase for the "New Burlesque," was the most insightful self-examination of what it was like to be a teenage heterosexual girl in San Francisco in the late 70's that I have heard or read. A time when punk and hard-core music exploded. in the Bay area, Sadie shared a reflection on how she had heard the call from the feminist moment that she controls her body and does when she can do whatever she wants with it ...particularly in the area of sex (Note: she used no politically correct language but simply told how she lived her life). Popping up every so often was her dad struggling to be a supportive father at the same time being concerned for her safety. She and her girlfriends had a lot of sex mostly with boys in bands some of whose names I recognized and a lot I did not. She remembers that she had a real good, fun time in coming of age in that world and learning about the contradictions between boys and girls. She also talks about her experiences of being in a band, particularly one all all-girl band called the URGE as a drummer. She told of a trip to LA to play the Hong Cong Cafe ( a punk/new wave in the back room of a Chinese Restaurant booked by LA's version of NYC 's Anya "terror" Phillips, tough, smart and punk-glamorous Asian woman who I believe was Allison Humamura. This Asian booker who had booed the URGE for two night after hearing the substance intoxicated band play night 1 canceled the second night and told Sadie the URGE was" the worse band she had ever heard." I got a real sense of community and of the friendship of the girls in punk and the rivalry over boys, mostly musicians in punk from Jean's memory performance. A real reality check is her simply, jargon-free explanation of how getting pregnant, asking the boy responsible for half the $100 fee and going to Kaiser Hospital alone, for an abortion, She spent the night (imagine that today!) then called her Dad to pick her up. The performance was done with an acoustic and plugged-in guitars and three very dramatic t-shirt changes with slogans reflecting a woman's symbol, an anonymous hashtag and finally reflecting on when Sadie left to the City by the Bay to come to the Emerald City an I LOVE NY t-shirt. Hearing her made me remember a narrative film from a couple of years back that I really liked : "Diary of a Teen Age Girl" whose central character was a teenage girl around the same time as Sadie's reflection growing up in SF and developing not only a creative life but learning about sex, love, and rejection. I hope Jean Caffeine finishes her "being worked on NYC years",. That is when I first met her and then she moved to Austin Tx where I always make sure when I am at SXSW to check in with her.
NOTE TO ACADEMICS: her hour-long presentation is perfect for Gender and Women studies programs as well as women in music courses ... Book her
I love this Jim! It's through a different lens than I usually look through, and I appreciate it. I think my Dad would like your review too! :) I'm also a huge fan of the book and movie, "Diary of a Teenage Girl" and my copy of the book was given to me by Penelope Houston (Avengers) , who when I told her about the bones of my memoir said that it reminded her of "Diary of a Teenage Girl" and that I needed to read that book.
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