When Sleater-Kinney released their eleventh studio album, Little Rope, earlier this year, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker shared their vision for the new music, saying, “A rope can be many things, it can hold us back or it can be a guide line through our most difficult night. The songs, for us, always show us the way forward and we hope you will join us.”
On the evening of March 21, Chicago fans joined Sleater-Kinney as they took the stage for an all-ages show at The Riviera Theatre. It quickly became clear that fans and the band were linked by an invisible, unbreakable rope, coming together as two ends of the same force. What was less clear is which group was guiding the collective energy as each time the band pulled for more, fans upped the ante, and vice versa.
“I hope we made this set rowdy enough for you. You’ve got a lot of energy,” said Brownstein early in the show as the crowd – especially those on the floor – jumped, sang, and danced along with new songs like “Hell” and “Needlessly Wild” and classic SK favorites including “Bury Our Friends” and “Get Up.”
Cheers erupted at the first notes of the Dig Me Out classic “One More Hour” and the decibels continued to rise when “All Hands on the Bad One” appeared later in the set. “Hurry on Home,” from 2019’s The Center Won’t Hold, has become one of the most impressive numbers in Sleater-Kinney’s live repertoire with its full sound serving as a buoyant backdrop for Brownstein’s sharp-edged ferocity and Tucker’s operatic howls. The one-two punch pairing of “Hurry on Home” with the booming sounds of The Woods‘ “Jumpers” created one of the most powerful segments of the night, full of shared emotion.
“Thanks for dancing and singing along to that song,” said Brownstein at the end of “Jumpers.” “That’s one that always makes us emotional and it’s a privilege to share that with you. It always kind of feels like a ‘sad day’ and a ‘sad year,’ so thanks for bringing your sadness, your joy, your optimism, your skepticism, just your whole self to us tonight. We’re here to share that with you and it’s an honor to play for you. So, thanks so much.”
The best sing-along of the concert took place, of course, during “Modern Girl,” while fans in the front row got an up-close serenade from Tucker during an impassioned set-closing performance of “Untidy Creature.” “The Fox,” “Six Mistakes” and “A New Wave” were further stand-outs on the setlist.
Earlier in the night, Black Belt Eagle Scout – the moniker of singer-songwriter Katherine Paul – opened the show with a captivating set. An all-out jam broke out during the Mother of My Children tune “Soft Stud,” and later, “Indians Never Die” was bathed in fuzzy beauty.
Sleater-Kinney will continue on their North American Tour through early-April. Check out photos from their Chicago show – featuring Black Belt Eagle Scout – below and click here to pick-up tickets to see them perform in a city near you. More information can be found at Sleater-kinney.com.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)
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