If there’s one thing better in life than listening to a classic album from start to end then it’s listening to a classic album from start to end live! And, on Thursday night at the Newport Music Hall pre-grunge riff-rock lifers L7 performed their post-grunge (arguably) best album, Bricks Are Heavy as a celebration to 30 years since that-album-with-that-one-song hit the charts.
Released way back in 1992 and produced by none other than Butch Vig, L7 were, as they are now, a ferocious onslaught of distortion-heavy power chords and gritty but humorous reactionary lyrics against a male-centric industry and a world post Reagan.
30 years later and the band still look fresh, and while Sparks can’t quite keep up the vocal intensity, the four piece can still put on a great rock show and offer up another reminder why the ’90s were simply the best musical decade.
Also on the bill were a slightly younger band in Radkey. A band of brothers from Missouri who, despite their still young age, have already taken their high-energy garage rock around the world and were an absolute joy to watch as Dee, Sol and Isaiah Radke looked to be having the time of their lives on the Newport stage with a brief but powerful set.
Matt Ellis is a freelance photographer who covers music that happens in the city and the Columbus Crew SC home games. More photography from Matt can be found at his Instagram page.
All photos by Matt Ellis