October 12 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
$35
L7 brings its farewell tour to Austin on Monday, October 12, when the pioneering grunge and punk four-piece headlines Emo’s on Red River as part of The Last Hurrah Tour. Doors open at 7 PM, with tickets starting around $35 — a rare chance to see one of alternative rock’s most confrontational live acts before they call it quits for good.
Formed in Los Angeles in 1985 by guitarists and co-vocalists Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner, L7 built a reputation on sludgy, distortion-drenched riffs and a fiercely unapologetic, feminist DIY ethic that predated and helped shape the riot grrrl movement. The band’s 1992 album Bricks Are Heavy, co-produced with Butch Vig (fresh off Nirvana’s Nevermind), spawned the modern rock hit “Pretend We’re Dead” and pushed L7 into heavy MTV rotation alongside the grunge explosion happening around them. Their live shows earned a reputation for chaos and confrontation, from Donita Sparks dropping her pants onstage at the 1992 Reading Festival to bassist Jennifer Finch’s legendary onstage antics at Lollapalooza that same year.
Emo’s has anchored Austin’s Red River Cultural District in one form or another since 1992, and the current Red River location has hosted everyone from hardcore lifers to arena-sized headliners on their way up. The club’s cavernous main room and outdoor side stage make it one of the few rooms in town built specifically for loud, physical rock shows, and a late-career L7 crowd — equal parts original fans and younger converts — should make for one of the heavier nights on Red River this fall.
Grab a spot before this one sells out.
L7 reunited in 2014 after a lengthy hiatus and has toured steadily since, including festival slots at Riot Fest, Download, and Primavera Sound, plus a 2016 documentary, L7: Pretend We’re Dead, chronicling the band’s rise and the toll the music industry took on an all-female rock band in the ’90s. Emo’s sits an easy walk from the Red River strip’s other reliable rock stop, Mohawk, making this stretch of Austin a simple double-header for anyone catching an earlier show elsewhere first.
Doors are at 7 PM; entry policy (all-ages vs. 18+) can vary by show, so check Emo’s site day-of for current rules. Red River parking fills up fast on show nights, so plan to arrive early or use a nearby garage.