(April 24, 2015; THE PAGEANT, Saint Louis MO)
So… what exactly happened on this beautiful, cool April evening in Saint Louis, within the jam-packed confines of the Pageant? Well, five outrageously talented musicians (six, actually, counting an auxiliary player, augmenting the furious noise of the headliners) – women – commanded the respect and attention of every single person in attendance. It was almost like a mini LILITH FAIR, but without the “we’re going to prove that we can rock as well as the boys, but in a more genteel girly-girl fashion, with lilacs in our hair and pansies on the stocks of our acoustic guitars.” These ladies had, all, proven that point years ago; no, they were here to rock. You gotta live in a cave, or – well, under a rock, if you haven’t figured out that women can rock every bit as hard as men (harder, in some respects)… always have; always will. After hearing more than one knucklehead make the comment that “they play pretty good for girls,” I just had to get that out of my system; I absolutely cannot believe that the subject is even up for debate anymore.
My butt was inside the venue thanks to the ladies of THEESatisfaction, who took pity on a lowly scribe and put him on their guest list. Choosing a Hip-Hop act to open for them may seem an odd choice for Sleater-Kinney and their punk roar – putting aside the fact that the two groups both call Sub Pop home – but, Catherine Harris-White and Stasia Irons (whose stage names are Cat and Stas) are kindred spirits with the trio… riot grrrls to the core. The duo’s music could best be described as Hawkwind-ian space-hippy synthesizers over some seriously funky beats; Cat and Stas both have great voices, with Stas handling the raps and, when they harmonize, you are magically transported back to Motown’s 1960s heyday. There’s also a bit of Supremes-style choreography going on (and, at one time, there was even a hint of some old O’Jays moves, showing love for the Philly soul movement, too). The tunes themselves were uplifting and empowering without being preachy: “Recognition,” from the recently released EARTHEE album; “Queens,” from its predecessor, AWE NATURALE; and the wickedly on-point “Bisexual,” from 2009’s SNOW MOTION release. Stas sent the latter out to “boys who like boys, girls who like girls, girls who like boys and boys who like girls.” The 45-minute set was well-received… I even saw a couple of older guys bobbing their heads and singing along to the newer songs. THEESatisfaction actually flew in from Nashville just a couple of hours before the show (their plane was late, forcing a scheduled in-store appearance at Vintage Vinyl to be delayed and cut short), leaving them little time to rest before taking the stage; as amazing as this performance was, I can only imagine the type of set they could have pulled off had they been well-rested.
After a thirty minute break, the reunited Sleater-Kinney took the stage in rather unassuming fashion, waving and smiling to the house. The demure entrance quickly turned into an explosion of noise and power, as Janet Weiss began pummeling her drum kit and the trio ripped into “Price Tag,” the opening salvo from the group’s new NO CITIES TO LOVE album. Corin Tucker’s harsh, sometimes grating vocal style plays well in this live setting and her rhythm guitar, tuned down to give the music a beefed up bottom-end, allows the extraordinary Carrie Brownstein to explore an almost experimental sound as lead guitarist. There are very few guitarists you can identify by tone and style alone; Brain May and Gary Richrath immediately come to mind. Now, after hearing Carrie play live, I would add her work to that short list. The jam-packed nineteen song main set, delivered at a fast and furious pace, left the group (which also included auxiliary player Katie Harkin) – and the crowd – very little time to catch their breath, as they ripped through new favorites and classic tunes, alike: “Bury Our Friends,” “I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone,” “Light Rail Coyote,” “Surface Envy,” “Oh,” “No Cities To Love” and “Ironclad,” among them; the five (!) song encore was kicked off with the syncopated groove of “Gimme Love,” one of the strongest tracks from the new record and the evening ended with THE WOODS’ “Modern Girl,” a jangly, power pop sort of thing… an odd but effective choice to end the show.
Before this night, I really wasn’t all that familiar with S-K’s music – as close I came had been Janet’s band, Quasi – but, the energy and overwhelming power of this trio has made me a fan. Tucker’s lead vocals (with the occasional Brownstein lead to keep things interesting) border on the sublime; Brownstein’s guitar heroics and on-stage histrionics add a touch of chaos to the magnificent din; and… what can I conceivably say about Weiss’ drumming? Watching her play, she seems to be more of a finesse percussionist but, her sound is as big (maybe bigger) as her idol, John Bonham (I believe he played in the Band of Joy and was part of Jimmy Page’s New Yardbirds). Even with that massive sound, she gives many of the band’s tunes an undeniable groove that’s reminiscent of Tony Thompson’s work with Chic and Power Station. Anyone who had any fears about Sleater-Kinney suffering from their ten year layoff can rest assured that they haven’t lost a beat; in fact, the time off (though each continued playing in other projects) seems to have reinvigorated the band, spurring them to new heights. I, for one, can’t wait to hear what’s next.