IT'S afternoon in Charlie's Bar on Aungier Street, and Dublin's indie kids file into the upstairs venue, pay their three quid, and get a rubber stamp on their hand.
Bis are the first band on, and probably the most eagerly awaited, since they recently made pop history of sorts by becoming the first unsigned band to appear on Top Of The Pops in 32 years. Three teenagers from Glasgow, Bis make plinky pop music with a riot grrrl edge, but it takes awhile for them to sort out some sound problems, by which time they can only deliver a short, perfunctory set.
The trio comprise two guys, Sci Fi Steve and John Disco and one girl, Manda Rin, and all three look like they've just sneaked out over the school gates just to make this gig. Steve trades vocal bubblegum cards with the diminutive Manda, whose high pitched voice is the only clue as to her whereabouts on stage. Cheap sounding synths and anti grunge guitar twiddles made a sugary, sometimes sickly mix but the ineffectual nature of it all is, er, quite effective.
Your intrepid rock critic pops out for some fresh air after Bis's set, intending to return later and catch headliners Bikini Kill; but when I get back I discover that Kathleen Hanna's band have decided to go on second, and so I miss America's original riot grrrls, and never get a chance to see Courtney Love's nemesis do her thing, stick around for Team Dresch, and am greeted with a mix of sloppy, non committal punk and over zealous feminist sloganeering, the band sounding unconvincing on both counts. But then, that's what riot grrrl is all about, isn't it: reaching for the issues' when the ideas run out.
