By Patrick (via Sleater-Kinney.Net)
Okay, last night several hundred people got lucky. They were at the S-K show at Southpaw in Brooklyn. They got very lucky. As you may or may not know, the show was “unannounced” and most of the people I talked to heard about it through the Yahoogroups S-K group.
Pre-show. I bought a t-shirt from Janet, who was working at the merch table for about a half-hour after the doors opened.
The opening act was the Fiery Furnaces. It was my third time seeing them and I think they have gotten better each time. Good stuff, but the volume was a tiny bit too loud.
S-K came on. There is no fitting description for what followed, but I have several comments.
1. There was a lot of joy in the atmosphere.
2. Re explanation for #1 (besides the obvious). Carrie stopped after a few songs and gave a “state of the tour” address, which I will attempt to summarize. It begins with Carrie smiling (one might say “beaming”). Carrie explains (and I paraphrase)
3. The show kicked ass. They played stuff from all over the place (except I don’t think they played a single song off “All Hands on the Bad One” - I didn’t note this until later, I was having way too much fun).
4. The crowd was loud and during most of the show the applause, hooting, whistling, etc. was louder than most bands I hear. The crowd did not contain its enthusiasm or appreciation.
5. The crowd sang along at exactly the right moments.
6. I don’t think I have seen a band having more fun onstage.
7. It got hotter and hotter in the place as the show continued, and it got better and better.
8. Prior to the encore, there was an onstage band meeting. Clearly they were deciding what to do next. I think the encore consisted of three songs, but I am not sure. I think the first was “Words and Guitar.” The second was definitely “Promised Land” and there was some discusssion of Janet playing harmonica (while she was putting on the harmonica harness [is that what you call it?]). They played Promised Land, but Janet stopped in the middle. She said “what’s the point of playing the harmonica if no one can hear it?” They tweaked the sound and picked up in the middle of the song and we could all hear the greatest drummer in the world playing the harmonica to boot. We loved it!
9. The ladies played for about an hour an a half (is that right?). At the subway station on the way home, no one made much sound. I think we were all spent - soaking wet with sweat, hoarse and euphoric.
This is why, at age 44, I still go to shows. S-K makes me glad to be alive and I love them dearly.
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