WEEKEND REVIEW : Pop : Joan Jett Fronts Evil Stig in Agile, Fiery Viper Room Set

In a perfect world, Joan Jett would be as big as Courtney Love, and Mia Zapata would be alive and giving them both a run for their money. The world, however, is less than perfect.

In 1993, Zapata, lead singer of the Seattle band the Gits, was raped and murdered. Since then, the remaining Gits have arranged several benefit concerts to fund an ongoing private investigation into the still-unsolved crime, as well as Home Alive, an organization dedicated to self-defense education.

It was one of these benefits that brought them together with Jett, and Evil Stig (“Gits Live” in reverse) was born. The self-titled album they released earlier this year (mainly Gits material with a couple of Jett classics) resurrected--even strengthened--the band’s fiery spirit, but on stage at the Viper Room on Friday, their synergy truly ignited the music.

Agile and airtight, they blazed into supercharged renditions of “Last to Know” (an Evil Stig original) and “Bob (Cousin O.)” without losing their grip on the upbeat melodies, then surged through the anguished “Sign of the Crab” and the bitter “Drinking Song.” Jett, a consummate point woman, tackled the ominous “Spear and Magic Helmet” with hard-core fervor, yet carefully drilled every chilling syllable home: “Then you raped her, you left her in the alleyway.” On a different note, she also led the band through her own rambunctious hits, “Bad Reputation,” “Crimson and Clover” and the Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb.”

All too often, good causes become catalysts for not-so-good musical alliances. Evil Stig proved not only worthy, but utterly worthwhile.