On “Shove," the first track of Smell the Magic, L7’s 1990 Sub Pop debut, Donita Sparks, Suzi Gardner, Jennifer Finch, and Demetra Plakas taped over a Mudhoney jam session to make space for one of the most indelible riffs of ’90s counter-whatever rock music. There’s something apt in the band’s fulfilling the threat spelled out in the song (“Get out of my way or...”) a full 45 seconds before the chorus even kicks in. That’s just what L7 have historically been about. With outsize personalities and politics—and an early tour van christened the “Poon Tank”—the Los Angeles quartet have never been the types to wait for the door to open before they help themselves. There’s no better illustration of L7’s woolly obstinacy than the recent festival that the band threw. The Fast and Frightening Takeover!, named after the manifesto where Sparks sneers, “Got so much clit, she don’t need no balls” (before she and Gardner trill and growl the chorus like their lycanthropy is synchronized), was as much an announcement of the thrash-pop punkers’ return as their official reunion in 2014.

L7's inaugural Fast and Frightening Takeover! took place on Nov. 23. Headlined by our heroes and sponsored in part by CREEM (we were in charge of standing around and looking pretty), the fest featured a whothe-fuck’s-who of boho trash and contemporary badass rock. Amongst a riot of talent (with nary a weak link in the bunch), Redd Kross provided the power-pop heat, the Paranoyds brought the new-wave cool, Detroit’s own ADULT, supplied the cold wave, Surfbort covered the wacky contingent, Olivia Jean ramped up the spooky vibes, and the great Zabrecky (Rob Zabrecky, a writer-artist much admired in these parts, who used to front Possum Dixon) supplied the literal magic. At least we think it was literally magic. Under L7’s spell as we were (and a bit of microdosing as part of our “visiting L.A. and doing wellness" regimen), we honestly didn’t know where our rabbits ended and our hats began.