Sleater-Kinney Concert Review Archive / 2001-2006

Courtney Thomas has pics from the Trocadero available at her site, including, possibly, my most favorite picture of Ms. Brownstein ever (above).

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By Eric Shewack

I saw Sleater-Kinney for the first time ever at the Trocadero in Philadelphia on October 19, 2002. I went by myself because none of my friends really know much about S-K and don’t care to either, but that’s their loss, my friends suck. I was really hungover on Saturday so the two hour ride to Philly wasn’t an enjoyable one, but the concert made up for that. Needless to say, I started drinking again at the Troc (I drink a lot on the weekends).

After waiting in a long line outside for this sold-out show, I went straight to the merchandise stand to stock up on some S-K stuff. Then Janet comes over and starts helping the guy at the stand. I knew it was her right away, but my mind didn’t want to believe it. I mean, she was so down to earth asking people what size they need their shirt in and saying “that will be $7.00″. Plus, nobody glorified her, a few people (including myself) asked her casually if she could sign something for us after we paid for our merchandise. I had her sign my ticket stub after I bought 3 very cool bumper stickers and a ‘One Beat’ promo poster.

After I got all my memorabilia I headed upstairs to the bar and blew the rest of my money on beer. I kinda regret doing this because S-K’s performance is a little foggy in my memory. In fact after seeing a setlist on the net, I was surprised to see they played a few songs I don’t remember being played. But I was very much into the music while it was being played (even if I don’t remember all of it), and I had an amazing time eventhough I went by myself.
I hope a recording surfaces to refresh my memory of this great show. I usually tape all shows I go to, but the Trocadero is not a good place to tape a show, security will crucify you there if you get caught. I think S-K is cool with taping too, but try telling that to an ignorant security guard.

Anyway, I was in a complete state of bliss finally getting to see S-K live. I’ve been to many concerts over the years and I can honestly say this was the best show I’ve ever seen. Not only is S-K’s music amazing, but so are Corin, Carrie and Janet. They truly care about their fans, something I can’t say about all bands.

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By Josh Davlin

It’s monday afternoon, and I’m still recovering from my amazing Sleater-Kinney weekend.

Saturday night’s show at the Trocadero in Philly was the culmination of one of those amazingly perfect days that just don’t happen that often. My 13-year old daughter was away for the weekend with a friend, so I got some rare quality time with my wife during the day. then my friend Dan and I got up to Philly and had a nice dinner. Got to the Troc just as the Quails were finishing up and found nice places to stand right behind the sound board, which also happened to have a copy of the setlist on it. As the soundboard area is slightly elevated from the floor, we had no one blocking our view, which was nice. So, even tho we weren’t close to the stage or anything, it was great to be able to see everyone.

As for the show itself, it was exactly as amazing as expected. The One Beat songs all sound incredible live. I absolutely LOVE all the long jams they do now, and of course Janet’s amazing drum solo. I love how they do Sympathy, the most heart-wrenching song that always manages to bring a tear or two to my eyes, then follow that immediately by launching into Hollywood Ending, drum solo and all, providing this incredibly emotional release after Sympanthy.

As someone else mentioned earlier, no the Philly crowds do not dance much. It’s been that way at every Philly show I’ve been to. I’ll never forget the S-K show at the Troc in 99 or 98 when we got there early and decided to sit
in the balcony. We got great seats in the front row, and as soon as the gals went on, we immediately got on our feet and started dancing around, only to be yelled at by everyone around us to sit down! Geez. I thought I was there to enjoy some music. Weird.

Still, overall, a great great show. And there’s something about the acoustics at the Troc - it gives off loud, cacophonous sheets of sound that are very powerful, one huge wall of sound. You don’t get the finely detailed acoustics that some modern halls offer, but that’s just fine.

Then my Saturday night/sunday morning ended perfectly by watching the first World Series game on tape and seeing the Giants win and Barry hit a homer.

Go Giants!!!

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Pictures of the show available here at whatawaytodie.com

I have no reviews of this particular show, but a friend told me Carrie was rocking so hard she chipped her tooth on her mike. So, you know, it must have been a really good show.

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By Maria Lambert

yes, indeed, she did chip her tooth on the mike. i felt so bad - she was just kind of holding her mouth and looking awkward. she said something like “i’ve never felt like i’m four years old on stage before.” i guess she must have been okay, though, because she played the rest of the show and the night afterward with no appearance of lasting effect.

i have done the same thing, only on my sax mouthpiece - it’s like one of those things that hurts so much you can’t see for about a minute, and then throbs, and then eventually goes away. but it, in short, sucks.

as for the show, it was really good. for opening bands: mirah was really good - i had heard a song of hers on the “group” soundtrack - but the crowd really drowned her out; they were talking incessantly. she had to start a couple songs over because i don’t think she could hear herself.

yeah yeah yeahs were their usual selves - karen o looked like she was dragging big-time - not the usual peppy performance persona, if you’ll pardon my alliteration. i am really not feeling them, although i do think their sound has gotten a lot tighter since i saw them open up for the gossip last year-ish.

s-k was pretty damn great - they seem to have gotten back to jamming a bit at their shows. this ain’t no phish-style aimless noodling, though - it’s short, sweet, to the point, intense. janet’s drum solo was kicking hard - usually i think of drum solos as this very arena-rock self-congratulatory exercise in testosterone, but it was like janet was mocking that idea and outdoing it all at the same time, it was really fun, especially the epilepsy-inducing strobe-lights coming into effect. plus, since the crowd was, let’s say, reticent to dance, carrie started rocking out during the drum solo. wow.

as for set list: i did not keep one, perhaps someone else can contribute in this department. was really happy to hear “promised land” by bruce as an encore - carrie asked “who are the four people in the crowd who knew that song?” and i sort of half-heartedly raised my hand, because i could only make out a couple of the hooks and half the chorus - the sound was being weird, as it can be at irving plaza (grrr irving plaza).

the songs were most of the usual suspects from one beat, a good helping of dig me out, a sprinkling of hot rock, and a quick dash of call the doctor - very little of ahotbo, incidentally. a particularly on-fire “little mouth” - i felt like i was going to seize with all the energy.

in sum, an excellent show - so much afterglow, i could barely sleep that night. outdone only by the show last night for nyu students and a few lucky others. but that’s for another review - one i keep accidentally deleting right before finishing the last sentence. damn.

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By Gary Drechsel

I have to say I had a blast seeing S-K for the first time. They exceeded my expectations, which is always great when that can happen. Since I have no other shows to compare this too I’ll just say that I thought it was amazing. It was the most fun I’ve had at a concert in at least 10 years. Let’s see - they played all of “One Beat” except for ‘Funeral Song’ and ‘Prisstina.’ As for older songs they played ‘Little Mouth’ ‘Stay Where you Are’ ‘Dig Me Out’ ‘Turn It On’ ‘Words And Guitar’ ‘Burn Don’t Freeze’ ‘Get Up’ ‘Youth Decay’ ‘You’re No Rock n’ Roll Fun’ ‘#1 Must Have’ and the Bruce song ‘Promised Land’ with Janet on drums and harmonica. ( I think that’s all of them )

All of the songs were great so it’s tough to pick a highlight. (Ok I was very happy to hear them do ‘Get Up’ and ‘Sympathy’ was incredible - you could see the emotion on Corrin’s face - a very powerful moment) I especially enjoyed Janet’s drum solo/ Corin’s and Carrie’s dance break (was Carrie doing ‘the Monkey?’ ). I also thought it was very cool of Janet to welcome the audience to the show and invite all the ladies in the audience to come up to the front so they could see better. Oh and I hope Carrie’s tooth is ok - she chipped it on the microphone during one song. She said something like “I’ve never felt like I was 4 years old on stage before” and she announced that the rest of the songs would be sung with a noticable lisp. The crowd really seemed to love the band and the the members of S-K really seemed happy and surprised by the reaction of the crowd - though the level of dancing wasn’t enough for the band. I will say though that it was a little tough to dance, packed in like I was in the crowd.

Anyway - it was a night I’ll never forget. It was a hell of a lot of fun and I felt like I was seeing a legendary band at the height of their powers (can they get better?).

ps - just a couple more random comments.

Carrie is the new Pete Townsend - great moves, including the windmill. :)

I was sitting upstairs on a sofa near the bar and I saw Corin walk past me twice. I felt a little like a dork for being excited to see her walk by.

If you love the drums and great drummers you’ve really got to see S-K live - Janet is one of the best drummers I’ve ever seen.

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Newsday.com has a writeup of the first show titled Passion and Fury Without The Hype.

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By Cyndi Adamo

*i should mention that at this show, i was feeling pretty lousy. a cold that had been brewing in my body for days, and showed up in full force at the show last night. if things sound like im being negative, like i dont really sound like i was even at the show, well in a way i wasnt… but in a way, i was…;)

to sum up what follows… basically, the venue stunk, the audience was no better or worse than usual, the bands were all good, and sleater-kinney was the best ive ever heard them.

THE VENUE: the first thing i encountered in this show. the roxy…. stunk. compared to seeing sk at the middle east. waiting outside for some guy to stamp yr hand as to whether yr over 21, and the guy who is doing the stamping stands in front of you, NOT stamping yr hand, sort of talking to some guys near him about seemingly nothing, making you wait 5 minutes without explaining WHY… it was just odd. he kept going to take my ticket and stamp my hand, and then would turn away… i almost made a move to go inside without getting my hand stamped, just to get his attention more focused…

anyway, once inside, the place looked really cool. they had lots of neat lights, and a balcony area. overall, the roxy looks more “posh” then the middle east. but that’s not something i really care too much about, one way or the other.

what i really didnt like about this place was that the floor is raised up about 8 inches (give or take a few inches) right in front of the stage. it is the width of the stage, i think, and the length of it was (im bad at estimating these things) 40 feet, is my guess. anyway, there was room all around it for other people to stand, but if you werent on that platform, you had no chance of seeing the show over the people who WERE on the platform. as it was, being on the platform didnt help me. im short, i admit it. i would have had to be in the front row, not to have been stuck behind someone taller than me. most people are taller than me. contrast this to the middle east (downstairs) that has the middle of the audience area lower than the sides. this way, people who arent “in front” have a very good chance of actually seeing the band, by going to the sides. this is what ive always done in the past, and always was able to see sk very well. at the roxy, i saw corins face, maybe 40% of the time, carrie only when i stood in my tip toes at the right times, and janet… was she on stage? i only know she was cuz no one else plays like she does!

THE AUDIENCE: 2nd thing i encountered at the show. not too bad. no better or worse than other shows ive been to. i always end up near the ones who dont dance, dont sing. i guess thats yr choice, but when corin says “i want everyone to sing on this part!” then she tells you what words to sing, even, and you dont sing… sigh. i guess i can understand that you dont always want to participate in “audience participation activities”, but i wasnt expecting such a *lack* of it… corin even said in the show that she really appreciated those who were singing and dancing - “thats what we like to see!” she said, or something very close to that. but like i said, this audience was no better or worse than other shows ive seen. (the best audience i ever saw was in ‘96 in worcester. everyone was dancing and singing).

THE QUAILS: were good. i liked them. i missed part of their set… which i regret. i dont remember much, other than liking them. i want to hear them again, that much i know. those who have no idea what they are like: well, it is guitar, bass, drums. the drummer sings, really well, and amazes me by being just as good a drummer. the guitarist and bassist sing as well. that’s the best i can do for you, as far as what they sound like, aside from saying they were good.

THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS: also pretty good. ive heard some of their songs, only once, and to me, the songs i recognized sounded pretty similar to how they sounded on the cd. nothing added, nothing lost. i could not see the stage well, but i think it was just a drummer, guitarist and singer. they had some sample keyboard things, which i actually liked. the songs were very interesting to me. seeing them live made me think more about their structure than when i had heard the songs on cd. i thought the singer was really good, very much aware that she was singing to an audience. a friend pointed out to me that she seemed drunk, but i would never have thought that was it.. she just seemed real into “putting on a performance”. which was cool.

SLEATER-KINNEY: what can i say? they were amazing. they played better than i have ever heard them before. ive seen them 6 times before this, and all of those times were great as well, so it is saying something to say this was the best of them all.

they had the drum solo, which was cool, no matter what anyone says about it only belonging at a heavy metal show (some guy made that comment after the show. ugh.) they had an improv section, right after “call the doctor” which led right into a song from “dig me out”, but i dont recall which song it was. it might even have been dig me out, they did play that song. i did notice that they did not play “funeral song” and i dont believe they did a cover song at all. they had samples in prisstina, but i didnt hear the sax on step aside. if it *was* there as a sample, i dont recall it at all. none of the samples bothered me a bit. i guess hearing keyboard samples is less odd than hearing saxaphone samples..

whoever said corin’s faces are great when she sings prisstina wasnt kidding, she was hilarious! she was awesome! and she really put a lot of, hmmm? i dont know? into the lyrics. like she was trying to parody herself, is the best way i can say it. and carrie really impressed me with her singing. she did so on 1 beat, but to see her do those songs live… just quadrupled how impressed i am with her singing.

songs they played…
(not in order. im going by what they played from each album):

oxygen
oh!
the remainder
sympathy
prisstina
hollywood ending (complete with drum solo)
step aside
combat rock
far away
one beat
light rail coyote (this is the song corin wanted people to sing on)
youth decay
#1 must have
yr no rock n roll fun
burn, dont freeze
dig me out
words & guitar
little babies
turn it on (my personal favorite)
call the doctor
joey ramone
stay where you are (my other personal favorite)

were there others?

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By Heather

now that it is two days after the roxy show my review might not be as good as would have been yesterday. i agree with cyndi that the roxy is a lame venue. they staff seemed like they were all trying to be super proffessional. they would let in like five people at a time, and then stop everyone and check. they had an argument about whether or not they should check bags or not…they checked mine.

i ended up finding a spot on the raised part of the floor, starting out in the back corner and gradually working my way closer to the stage without pushing people out of the way (there were two specific girls that spent most of the show pushing there way though the crowd, going back and forth for drinks and practically knocking people over…once s-k started playing no one let them get away with that). as far as the music goes. i liked the quails. i didn’t love them, but it seemed that they were good song writers and musicians. i prefered the second half of their set…i’m not sure why. i absolutely hated the yeah yeah yeahs and have no idea what all the media hype is about. their music made me tired, people around me looked bored as well. there was one song that was ok, but i thought they were annoying and trying to hard to shock people. if they were
trying to shock people and wrote better songs i might have liked them better. i had watched the show up to this point standing behind the tallest guy at the show…anyone that was there probably knows who i’m talking about. he was like 7 feet tall and all his friends were my height (5′4″) or shorter. he moved after the yeah yeah yeahs and i ended up being able to see really well. s-k were awesome (probably the best i’d ever seen them, and this was my 8th time). i was so thrilled that they played songs off call the doctor, and i surprised myself by dancing a lot.

after the show my friend and i waited around a few minutes and suddenly we realzied that corin was walking in our direction. we had planned to give her our band’s cd. so we sort of made our way in her direction and were asked to take a picture of her with these two people. the we acted like big dorks and gave her the cd. she was super nice as she usually seems to be, and seemed surprised when we sort of darted off in the other direction after talking to her. ours was the first cd she got that night, so i wonder if it’s being used as a coaster, or if they actually listen to them.

that’s enough of a review for me. i wish i was seeing them again on this tour.

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By Tea

here is my half-assed review of the monday night show @ the Roxy/Boston… there was already a wonderful review given :)

um, well, this was my first time at the roxy.. i liked it at first, but i think it’s too big, and i hated that platform thing, especially because i’m short, and can’t see shit over tall people. puh! i didn’t like the quails… all of their songs sounded the same to me, but i do think that they were all very talented musicians, especially the bassist. i LOVED the yeah yeah yeahs! karen o is such a rock star & amazing performer. i had only heard one or two songs of theirs before i saw them, and was incredibly impressed.

sleater-kinney were AMAZING. this was my fourth time seeing them, and i was stunned. though i had a VERY hard time seeing them… i had to stand on tip-toes to view the top of janet’s head, and look through peoples shoulders to see carrie. but they were amazing. and i hadn’t heard any of “one beat” before the show, and i loved the songs that they played off of it, especially “prisstina” (two s’s i think?). i must get the new album!! i wish i wasn’t broke (sigh). janet’s drum solo was bad ass :) & the girls all looked really happy! as opposed to the last time i saw them, which was 2000 i believe…. so, being short sucks. especially when there are two short girls (me and my friend Erin) and three huge people come out of NO WHERE, look at you, and then stand RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. wtf is that? people are so goddamn rude. i know the whole short issue is overplayed, but really now. i hate it!!

anyhow, in sum: THEY WERE BRILLIANT! so, my birthday is next month, anyone want to buy me “one beat”? (wink wink).
hehe’

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