Riot girls worth the wait

The first thing that hits you is the queue. There aren't usually this many people trying to get into the Top of the Pops studio. But it's almost time for the Big Day Out and fans are eager to get a taste, thanks to American guest stars the Donnas and Le Tigre.

You can spot the Donnas' fans: Chuck Taylors, floppy fringes, checkered skirts. Le Tigre's are harder to recognise but there's a good chance that Sioux, the infamous BMX-riding white goth, is one of them.

Inside, things aren't looking so good. The Donnas are tired and hungry, and drummer Torry Castellano is wearing a cast to support a broken wrist. Elemeno P singer and one-time Top of the Pops host Dave Gibson is midway through filming a sixth take as the crowd do yet another obligatory cheer. The studio is hot and people are complaining.

Then suddenly, there's screaming. And not the contrived kind but genuine, shrill screaming. The Donnas are on stage, and before long ripping into Fall Behind Me, Castellano attacking her drums as though she's determined to break the other wrist as singer Brett Anderson belts out "You gooot nothin' ooon me!"

The Donnas are as much about hard out garage rock as they are great hair. A bald version of the band just wouldn't work. They need those shaggy Farrah hairdos to thrash around while they play.

Afterwards, on their way backstage, they're swamped by mini-Donnas and lovestruck boys. Leaning on a wall and chugging on a beer, bass player Maya Ford explains that it took them two hours to get through customs "because we're in a band so they think we must have drugs".

Actually they couldn't come across as nicer, sweeter, more law-abiding young women.

Guitarist Allison Roberston, the bubbliest of the four, is dutifully making her way around the fans as hands reach out to touch her hair. "Really, I have terrible hair."

Later, Le Tigre wait in the wings, wondering what's taking so long. They might share the Donnas' riot-girl ethic but they're worlds apart. When the Donnas were in their teens they probably listened to Bikini Kill, the former band of Le Tigre singer Kathleen Hanna. Years on and the experience is palpable.

Whereas the Donnas were pouty and glamorous, Hanna and bandmates JD Samson and Johanna Fateman seem a bit more comfortable in their matching lycra skin. Thankfully their music is just as intriguing as their dress sense: exciting, energetic electro-punk that comes booming out of a low-fi set-up: just a mic, a keyboard and an electric guitar.

Hanna's vocal is sweet when she sings and sour when she speaks.

As she hitches up her stockings, a guy yells, "Take 'em off."

"[Expletive] you," she replies.

Anyone planning to give her lip today had better watch out.

* If you can't be there in person, join us for continuous online updates throughout the day at nzherald.co.nz/bigdayout