I remember The Donnas pretty vividly during my early high school years. I saw them live at Shoreline Amphitheater at BFD Festival the summer after graduating 8th grade and was blown away. Keep in mind this was during the garage rock revolution of the early aughts and at peak Plank testosterone production levels– all I wanted was to listen to fast rock and roll music, shred some blistering solos, and pump my fist in the air. The Donnas were such a perfect fit for that specific summer in my life– guitar sections that sounded just AC/DC (plug a Les Paul into a Marshall tube amp and let it rip), sing-a-long choruses that were catchy as all hell, and a local presence based off their hometown of Palo Alto which was just 20 minutes up the road. But the best part was that the entire band was composed of females– my 13-year old brain could barely comprehend it at the time, but all I knew is that these girls were fun to look at and absolutely shredded their way through the entire set. One listen of Spend The Night takes me back to that summer as fast as a blistering solo from Allison Robertson.
Standout Songs: “Take It Off”, “It’s on the Rocks”, “Take Me to the Backseat”
