25

SUNDAY

Kick-ass (adj.): Clichéd descriptor used by music critics, 13-year-old ’zine writers, and aging riot grrrls to describe female rockers, often those with a lesbian fan base. Popular usage began post–Melissa Etheridge. Usually dropped immediately after show commences but before the start of encores. The term has verb-form variations as well, which can be used to indicate delight (Sleater-Kinney so kicks ass!) or for comparative purposes (Kathleen Hanna kicks George Bush’s ass!). But “kick-ass” has its problems: For one, it implies there can only be one mode for womyncentric musicians—kicking ass with a wallet chain. Donna Dresch deserves much more than that. She’s a bassist, a ’zine founder, the head of the iconoclastic label Chainsaw, and the former leader of the much beloved, way-ahead-of-its-time indie-rock group Team Dresch. She’s the equal of Ian MacKaye, and she still, well, kicks ass. Tonight, her new band, Davies vs. Dresch, headlines the Queercore Blitz tour with the Dead Betties, Triple Creme, the Kitty Kill, Gina Young + the Bent, and BoySkout. Catch Dresch and the rest at 8 p.m. at Casa del Pueblo, 1459 Columbia Road NW. $8. (202) 332-3422. (Jason Cherkis)