Its line-up may have schizophrenia, but with the help of

some seriously gooey glitter, the Summerland Tour managed to stick as one big

sense-making entity. Featuring 7 Year Bitch, Tracy Bonham, Spacehog and

Everclear, the tour (which just ended) consisted of four acts as stylistically

separable as combat boots, pumps, platform heels and Chuck Taylor tennis shoes.

Strangely, it's the most funky of the four, Spacehog (they're the ones with the

glitter), that deserves much of the credit for making the show work as a whole.

Uniting the crowd through their structured sing-along jams and

join-in-on-the-goof theatrics, Spacehog is a tough act to follow. But these

galaxy pigs actually pose no lasting threat to Everclear, which makes plenty of

its own headway and undoubtedly remains the headliner.

With a tour route

that has pitted a few dates against those of Lollapalooza, the Summerland Tour

didn't suffer from a bum turnout at San Francisco's Warfield Friday night (Aug.

2). The crowd came out early and strong, packing a good part of the venue

before 7 Year Bitch's 7:30 slot on stage. Because of their aggressive approach,

all female line-up and geography (they're from Seattle), 7YB is often slotted

into the riot grrrl movement, which the band has adamantly rejected in

interviews from the start. Their live show itself strongly refutes labeling 7YB

as just one of the grrrls--though ringing with snotty self-belief, the band's

performance is much more about playing a set that's powerful and provocative

and as tight as a principal's rear end than it is about consecutively throwing

pubescent tantrums.

Second up was Tracy Bonham, who's known for her own

kind of tantrum, the kind she exhibits in her hit single, "Mother Mother," when

she screams "Everything's fine" with brutal irony...

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