There's Something Hard in There: Feb. 1: The Gits Day in Seattle/ Review and Cat Rose photos

Matt Dresdner and Maria Mabra. (All Cat Rose photos)

By Andy

They sang. They laughed. They cried.

And they rocked.

Seattle music fans received a double dose of celebrations of the timeless, soulful and riveting music of The Gits on the afternoon and evening of Feb. 1 at the Vera Project and KEXP gathering space.

In honor of fervent singer and artist Mia Zapata, who was taken too soon from this world after being murdered in 1993 at the age of 27, the remaining members of the band -- drummer Steve Moriarty, guitarist Andy Kessler and bassist Matt Dresdner along with vital guests -- cranked out myriad gutsy tunes from the reissued "Frenching the Bully" album on Sub Pop Records and more on this brilliant day amongst music-loving friends.

It was The Gits Day (!), according to a King County proclamation issued by executive Dow Constantine and read at the events by Kate Becker, the exec's office's creative economy director.

Sterling vocalists Maria Mabra and Karen Marie Hernandez belted out Zapata's heartfelt lyrics for the whole of the early set and the majority of the nighttime affair, which featured howler Bob Lee helping to hammer out a cover of The Stooges' "Loose." Both Mabra and Lee were fellow students and friends with The Gits at Antioch College in Ohio (Lee was the band's first drummer) and Hernandez hails from San Pedro, CA, and sings for Cosmic Kitten. Another Antioch pal and member of Stag and Alcohol Funnycar, Ben London, lifted the critical sounds to a higher echelon as second guitarist.

Sub Pop CEO Megan Jasper, band manager and friend Rachel Flotard and KEXP DJ Morgan sung the praises of The Gits before each gig, both of which were packed to the hilt. Attendees were also treated the premiere of the short film documentary, "The Gits Live at RKCNDY."

"The spirit was strong. The band hadn't done this for 9 years but shook off the cobwebs and caught fire. They really sounded like themselves... Strong," Lee said. "It was an emotional rollercoaster to say the least. One thing that was repeated over and over was that it's time to let that music be celebrated independent of the terrible back story, and stand as some of the best, purest punk rock of its era."

Backstage following the Vera gig, Dresdner noted about the Sub Pop reissues: "We're just thrilled to get 'em back out there. Playing them again is kind of weird, but it's fun. With Sub Pop and everyone else, just getting up here, celebrating what the band did, Mia as an artist, a performer. It's so important for me personally, I'm just psyched that we got a lot of support."

It was an emotional day for Mabra, who unleashed copious amounts of energy and even got the crowd to start a pit at the Vera show. She was blown away by singing Zapata's songs and feeding of the crowd's vivacity.

Before the first gig of the day, she told the band backstage, "OK, let's get up there and crush this shit."

Mabra, who started the bands Shug, Babayaga and Corinne Rose in Seattle (she still performs in Austin), discussed the importance of The Gits reunion: "It's a great healing process for all of us because, especially as a woman, you never want a friend of yours to have that happen to. (Zapata was) an amazing sound, an amazing friend, someone I loved dearly, all of us loved... and then, it just kind of just tore us all apart. So now it's time, we're all healing together, which is great and we're all back together crying and loving each other."

Hernandez said it was an insane experience for her to step into Zapata's shoes for a while. She became involved with The Gits reunion after befriending Moriarty, who produced Cosmic Kitten's last album.

"In high school, I discovered The Gits. I wasn't even born when all of this happened (she's 28). I fell in love with the music really quickly and it got me through a tough time in my life," she said.

After pausing for moment to process her emotions after performing, she added, "It was just wild, just very heartwarming. It was a big release for me."

On the fan front, Celeste Felsheim, 24, first became aware of The Gits at age 12 after singing with Rain City Rock Camp at the old Crocodile.

"One of the security guards told me that my voice sounded like Mia. That's how I found out about them. So she pretty much started my entire journey with these (songs)," she said following the Vera gig. Felsheim bonded with her mom -- a '90s punk rocker -- over The Gits. She is blown away by the band's music.

After viewing the documentary, Felsheim said she was in tears watching Zapata bring the power on stage.

And then when The Gits performed in front of her very eyes at Vera, she said it was an unreal experience.

"It felt like a time capsule I got to be a part of, which was so magic," she said. "I brought my partner, who is a casual fan, and he was also just totally moved by seeing the band and feeling the love. Palpable."

** Behold Cat Rose's photos from both gigs. Enjoy!