[DID NOT ATTEND: November 1, 2026] Heavens to Betsy / Calamity Jane
A few weeks ago the Church hosted Pinhead Gunpowder, with Billie Joe Armstrong on lead vocals and now they had Heavens to Betsy with Corin Tucker on lead vocals. It’s like a retro parade at the Church. I was aware of Heavens to Betsy because I loved Sleater-Kinney, but they were too lo-fi for my liking back in the day.
Heavens to Betsy are the dup of Corin Tucker, vocals, guitar and Tracy Sawyer, drums. They were active from 1991 to 1994, and did some international touring. They eventually broke up, and reunited this year for a small tour. Considering Corin has been playing really big stages with Sleater-Kinney lately, it would have been really fun to see her in a small place like the Church. I’m going to say that 30 years of technology probably makes these songs sound bigger and better.
But we were in Sweden, so it wasn’t going to happen.
I didn’t notice that the opening act was Calamity Jane, who I assumed was a new band, but deep in the recesses of my brain I remembered that there was a grunge band called Calamity Jane back in the day. They were a noisy Riot Grrl band (actually, they were a few years before the Grrl movement). Their sound is like Bikini Kill, although I guess Bikini Kill followed them. They had a terrible breakup after a show opening for Nirvana in Argentina (well documented) and they broke up for 18 years. They have played on and off together and clearly this was a fun opportunity to tour again. I didn’t know their album Martha Jane Cannary but it’s really good! Give it a listen.
