The Raincoats and Kathleen Hanna pay tribute to Ari Up

The Raincoats and Bikini Kill/Le Tigre leader Kathleen Hanna paid tribute to their late friend Ari Up of The Slits by playing the first song she ever wrote, ‘Vindictive’, at a sold-out gig at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art on Saturday night.

Attaching photocopied photos of Up’s face to their microphone stands, Ana da Silva and Gina Birch led the group through a very ramshackle version of the song, which The Slits notably performed on John Peel’s radio show in 1977 (that recording is available on the deluxe edition of their 1979 debut, Cut). “I think we played that about as well as the Slits did at their first concert,” said Gina after the show. “I hope Ari wasn’t watching, actually.”

“You wouldn’t believe we’ve been playing these instruments for thirty years,” she added. “We like to keep it real.”

Tagged ari up, bikini kill, gina birch, kathleen hanna, le tigre, the raincoats, the slits