Another buzz band in town, another sold out show. Seems to be par for the course here in the 2002 and last night was no different, as Sahara Hotnights brought their brand of girl power to Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. I had previously seen the Swedish quartet in Austin at South By Southwest, but as anyone knows who went to that Hotnights/Soundtrack Of Our Lives bill, things were a bit discombobulated that night. Not so last night, as the four 23-and-unders hit the stage to a full room, aching for their garage rock explosion. And sometimes if you ask, you will receive.
Looking like they borrowed most of their hair styles from various ’70s TV shows (Brady Bunch, Eight Is Enough, etc.), save for frontwoman Maria Andersson, who looked very much in the here and now, the band thanked us all for coming out and ripped into album opener “Alright Alright (Here’s My Fist Where’s The Fight),” setting heads bobbing and fists pumping in various parts of the floor. This band is no gender gimmick: Andersson may be dating fellow Swede and leader of The Hives, Pelle Almqvist, but the girls can rock with the best of them. Other highlights included “Down And Out,” “Fall Into Line,” and “No Big Deal.” As the night grew late, they announced their last song and kicked into “Keep Up The Speed,” doing exactly what the song said, turning the volume up to 11 and ripping through the song at breakneck speed. Rapturous applause followed, so the girls retook the stage for one final number, “Out Of The System,” and with that, we all HAD gotten the rock out of our systems. At least until we woke up this morning.
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