by Roy Scopazzi
Genres are silly and trying to use one to describe Kim Gordon’s current solo material is even sillier. I remember reading that her latest two albums are “Hip Hop” but telling someone to listen to it expecting hip hop would be like giving a hot dog to someone who asked for a sandwich. Technically sure, it fits the qualifications but whomever you give it to is going to be disappointed. I wondered what the crowd at the Castro Theatre expected? At this point in her life, the septuagenarian has been making music for 45 years, always experimenting with whomstever she is working with so one would hope that they would leave whatever expectations they had at the door. For around a little over an hour she does not move too much from the sheet set on the stage but alongside her backing band she is able to transfix the crowd with a mixture of spoken word and rapped vocals, sometimes picking up a guitar for songs like BYE BYE and the two songs off of No Home Record she uses to finish off the show before the encore. I don’t know if everyone there was on board (I remember seeing people leave their seats midshow) but for those who stayed it was a mesmerizing experience.
SASAMI and her band opened the show and as someone who has seen and photographed her before, I knew her energy was perfect for this concert. She weaves between fun poppier songs and much, heavier stuff as she requests a mosh pit to start (the crowd of 50-60 somethings did not oblige). Always a great time, I hope she’ll be able to go on a headlining tour soon.
