Categories
LIVE REVIEWS

The Hot Rock, Part 1: Sleater-Kinney, Philadelphia, Oct. 27, 2019

Like a lot of fans who were totally onboard for Sleater-Kinney’s triumphant return with No Cities To Love in 2015 but somewhat alienated by this year’s The Center Won’t Hold (with its flashy St. Vincent production) and the subsequent desertion of drummer Janet Weiss, I was less enthusiastic about seeing the band this time around.

On the other hand, I’ve been game to check out whatever Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein create, together or apart, and I’ve found something to dig about every one of their projects, from the Corin Tucker Band and Filthy Friends to Wild Flag, Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl, the Spells and Portlandia. If nothing else, I knew they’d play the hell out of anything from the albums I’ve loved and lived with for so many years.

I needn’t have worried: As great as it was to rock out to eternal thrillers like “Words And Guitar,” “Dig Me Out,” “All Hands On The Bad One,” “Modern Girl,” “Entertain,” “Bury Our Friends” and “Price Tag” at the Fillmore, the real reward was hearing Tucker and Brownstein rip through the new material that excited them enough to blow up their modus operandi, their longtime lineup and any baggage that fans and critics may have brought with us.

“Bad Dance,” my favorite The Center Won’t Hold track, was straight-up electrifying; “The Dog/The Body” had me gasping for breath; “Hurry On Home,” the title track and “The Future Is Here” felt like tunes I’ve known forever and loved without realizing it, rather than titles off an album I should’ve spent more time trying to absorb.

That’s one of the downsides of the all-you-care-to-hear musical trough in which we traffic; there’s always so many songs to check out, to revisit, to luxuriate in, to listen perfunctorily to, and never enough time to spend with art that’s harder to digest. But Sleater-Kinney made sure that there was plenty of time for that by allowing The Center Won’t Hold to take up space onstage; the 28-song set included all 11 from the record, as well as post-release stand-alone single “Animal,” which offered the drama we’ve been craving without caving in to expectations or feasting on nostalgia.

Even with the expansion of synths and electronic drums, the heart of the show was the two frontwomen’s interlocking guitars and complementary vocal styles. While they may not sing circles around each other much anymore, or physically face off as often (although maybe that was due to the warm kombucha everyone but Brownstein consumed before the show), they were undeniably riding the same wave. Whether it was Brownstein taking the lead with teeth clenched and right arm windmilling or Tucker wielding her power-tool vibrato while holding down the low end—or even the numbers with four guitars going at once—they amply proved that experimenting with form has only added to their arsenal.

But it was “Broken,” with zero guitars—just Tucker‘s gut-punch vocals and Brownstein’s no-nonsense keyboard—that was the night’s beating, bleeding heart, giving voice to the gratitude and nausea so many of us felt when Christine Blasey Ford told her truth at tremendous personal cost and it changed nothing.

Doing most of the speaking (maybe chalk that up to the kombucha incident as well), Brownstein underscored the importance of participation—politically, personally and artistically—and wondered what it would be like if we could show up for one another in more ways. If everyone in the room made even a small effort to show up for their friends, city and community the way Sleater-Kinney showed up for an audience of die-hards and skeptics, it could change absolutely everything.

So what’s stopping us?

—M.J. Fine; photos by Chris Sikich