Let’s remember when the International Pop Underground Convention began, on this day in 1991 (August 20)
Best I can tell, the International Pop Underground Convention was like what SXSW would be like if it didn’t suck and wasn’t overrun by shitty thinkfluencers and thirsty profiteers. It only happened once, but it was, by all accounts, awesome.
Writing in the Seattle Weekly, veteran rock journalist Chris Nelson said:
Organized by Olympia’s K Records, and boasting shows by incendiary punk and pop outfits such as Bikini Kill, Beat Happening, Fugazi, L7, Unwound, and Jad Fair (not to mention a picnic, cakewalk, and Planet of the Apes movie marathon), the IPU has served as a model for indie music gatherings like the biannual Yo Yo A Go Go festival and last year’s Ladyfest arts and activism conference, both staged in Olympia. The convention marked the launch of the stridently independent Kill Rock Stars record label, home not only to several of the bands that played the IPU, but also folks such as Sleater-Kinney and Elliott Smith. And the IPU’s Girl Night provided an empowering spark for the nascent Riot Grrrl feminist movement.
More broadly, the IPU galvanized folks who had been creating vibrant pop and punk scenes throughout the country, joining in one place musicians, indie label owners, and fans whose primary contact till then had been through the postal service. It was an infectious week erupting with possibility, where throngs buzzed on Olympia’s sidewalks and in its music halls, proclaiming “No lackeys to the corporate ogre allowed.” Veterans of the Do It Yourself revolution re-upped for a new decade, while scores of new recruits signed on the dotted line.
The Girl Night show is basically my dream show (per Wikipedia):
The festival’s first night was a set of shows officially titled Love Rock Revolution Girl Style Now.[5] A long list of female punk and queercore bands played, including Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Jean Smith of Mecca Normal, Kicking Giant, Heavens to Betsy, 7 Year Bitch, and Lois Maffeo’s early band, “Courtney Love”.[2][4] The concept for the opening night was designed and promoted by a group of volunteers led by Maffeo, KAOS disc jockey Michelle Noel, and local entrepreneur Margaret Doherty.[2] The event provided an energetic kickoff to the proceedings and achieved a near-legendary status among riot grrrls, becoming known simply as “Girl Night”.[2][5][6]
This whole thing rules:
For more reading:
