Music Features

Punk and women's issues rally for BARCC

Smash It Dead Fest

By LIZ PELLY | May 5, 2011

SMASH IT DEAD Titfit called all girls and queers to the front.

It’s Saturday afternoon, and Brooklyn’s Titfit, a neo-riot-grrrl four-piece, are about to play under two basketball hoops in MassArt’s gym. I’m sitting on the floor along the sideline, reading A DIY Guide to Preventing Sexual Assault, a zine I just grabbed from Papercut Zine Library’s table.

I’m on the section about “Alcohol and Sexual Assault” when Titfit’s singer — a brown-haired girl named Heather who’s wearing a white lace dress over jeans — calls all gIt’s Saturday afternoon, and Brooklyn’s Titfit, a neo-riot-grrrl four-piece, are about to play under two basketball hoops in MassArt’s gym. I’m sitting on the floor along the sideline, reading A DIY Guide to Preventing Sexual Assault, a zine I just grabbed from Papercut Zine Library’s table.

Kimberly Jane, a Papercut volunteer who helped run the fest, says combining punk rock with discussions of women’s issues and sexual violence is an important mix of personal and political. “Just because something is political doesn’t mean it’s stale and impersonal.” Of course, this kind of ambitious, all-ages, pay-what-you-can fest will never go down without a roadblock or two. In response to some aggressive dancing and two injuries (unrelated to dancing), police halted Saturday’s show after the Credentials played, and Sunday’s event was moved to the Democracy Center in Harvard Square, where I caught the Fagettes and Scamps.

Still, it all seemed like a success. “These are people that have really big hearts,” says BARCC volunteer Bobby Uttaro. He got more signatures on his volunteer-interest list than he usually does at events, and despite any preconceptions about frugal punks, everyone seemed to be throwing down at least a few bucks at the shows. By the end of the weekend, Smash It Dead had raised close to $4000.irls and queers to the front. Their songs about sexism (“Whole Not a Hole”) and consent (“Drunk Dick Consent”) are appropriate for today, day two of Smash It Dead Fest, a three-day benefit for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center that’s spreading out 40 bands and six workshops at different basements and venues around the city. After Titfit’s set, I learn strategies for punching away predators and kicking dudes in the crotch at a self-defense workshop.

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Slideshow: The Thermals at the Middle East downstairs
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They who smelt it, dealt it
Last Friday’s Iron Pour — a festival of fire and metal — felt like a giddy lab experiment cooked up by 12-year-old pyromaniacs who spent a week watching The Wicker Man .
Review: Seacoast Rep's clever Rooms
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Laura Stevenson moves from aggression to affirmation
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Photos: Dropkick Murphys at Whiskey Republic
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Topics: Music Features , Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Mass Art, Mass Art, More

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