“When L7 decided to release a documentary in 2015, we thought maybe we would take one last victory lap around the sun by playing some shows,” Donita Sparks said when The Last Hurrah was announced. “Instead, that lap turned into eleven more years of touring, sweat, new music, and reconnecting with the fans who made this all possible.” Now they’re calling it. The farewell run hits House of Blues Houston on Wednesday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m.
About the Show
L7 formed in Los Angeles in 1985, the core lineup built around Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner on guitars and vocals, with Dee Plakas on drums. Their sound drew from Motörhead’s metal grind and the Ramones’ no-frills punk, crossed it with pop hooks sharp enough to crack mainstream radio, and helped push what would get labeled grunge into the early ’90s conversation. Bricks Are Heavy (1992), produced by Butch Vig, was the breakthrough — “Pretend We’re Dead” hit the Top 10, and the album reached No. 24 in the UK. The band also co-founded Rock for Choice in 1991, a pro-choice benefit concert organization run in partnership with the Feminist Majority Foundation. After disbanding in 2001, they reunited in 2014; a crowd-funded documentary, L7: Pretend We’re Dead, premiered in 2016, followed by Scatter the Rats in 2019, their first new studio record in twenty years. The catalog has found audiences beyond the concert circuit: songs appear in Natural Born Killers, Serial Mom, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and in video games including Grand Theft Auto and Rock Band 2. Sparks on the significance of the final run: “Looking out into the crowd seeing longtime supporters rocking out next to a new generation of L7 fans has been the most powerful and humbling part of this chapter. We are deeply grateful and ready to give our audiences one last, loud, fun, and hopefully unforgettable night of rock and roll.” No support acts have been announced for the Houston date.
Venue & Logistics
House of Blues Houston holds 1,800, a room sized for where L7’s audience actually is: big enough for the legacy crowd and the fans who found the band through the documentary, not a venue sized for nostalgia-tour inflation. Houston is the fourth stop of the fall leg, following Phoenix, Austin, and Dallas. Show time is 7:00 p.m.; the venue is at 1204 Caroline St in downtown Houston. More Houston shows at Lonestar Concerts Houston.
Tickets
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. Fast Lane Access upgrades are available via Live Nation. Buy tickets