Keeping its audience out past 1 a.m., Sleater-Kinney played a sold-out year-end show Thursday night at The Showbox, thanking fans for staying up late to catch the performance.

“This is that weird interim that happens between that blizzard thing that happens on the 25th and that other blizzard that happens on the 1st,” singer/guitarist Carrie Brownstein noted. “We’re happy to be spending it with you.”

Photo by Jeremiah Garcia / IceCreamMan.com

I had the honor of seeing them play at Omaha’s Sokol Hall Underground the other night, and I’m absolutely sure it was one of the best concerts I’ve seen in years. They were explosive. I have a newfound respect for Janet Weiss’s skills on the drums, too. Despite some problems with Brownstein’s amp, they played about 75 minutes, finishing their set with an unwanky and blistering psychedelic jam on the epic “Let’s Call it Love,” the pentultimate track from their newest album, “THE WOODS.” Midway through the song, I turned to a few of my friends and exclaimed, “FUCK!”

It was Homecoming Night for the weirdo community of St. Louis. Sleater-Kinney’s first visit in five years brought out more or less everyone I’ve ever met, along with a sizeable contingent of youngsters who were likely at Cub Scout meetings the last time around. The band turned a rare trick with The Woods, delivering CPR to their well-worn formula with the aid of overdriven amps and the occasional protracted acid-rock freakout. Within the first two seconds of an advanced MP3 of The Woods’ opener “The Fox”, I was convinced from the maxxed-out blare that I must’ve grabbed a dud file. After 30 seconds, I picked up what they were laying down, but I wondered how the precise, anthemic tension of their first six albums would sound through a filter of Woodsy bigmuff.

Icecreamman.com has a review and many many photos here.

It is actually too loud, and as a hardened gig goer Gigwise knows loud – there’s feedback rolling off the feedback for Christ’s sake! Corin’s astounding voice, which could normally floor you at 40 paces is almost lost as Carrie’s guitar is making enough filthy noise to put any bassist in fear of their job. Thrashing about all over the stage to the powerful rhythms that are driving on and on punctured by the occasional guitar solo as a matter of talent, rather than pretence. Her singing is being brought to the fore more often too, on ‘Entertain’ her vibrant verses meld so well with Corin’s powerful chorus.

I especially enjoyed the Dead Meadow set before their home audience. There was good energy for them. Their stuff is really groove danceable, maybe especially that first number. It’s the one regret of my seaboard tour, not getting my feet off the floor enough for them.

But No Looking Back! This show was fast and fierce right from the start. They came out cooking. The vocals were spat out and clipped and shouted. The guitar playing was jagged and stabbing. The pace was pushed.

Carrie and Corin seemed in real agreement about what the mood was. More hard than angry, maybe a “I’m not going to take shit from anyone” feeling. Or maybe just a recognition this is the last show before a bit of a break, and a desire to go out fast and blazing.

They’ve played a number of different songs third after Fox and Wilderness; a fast and pounding version of Step Aside cemented the mood.

It put an interesting spin on Sympathy: the kick-ass rock ‘n roll component of the song won out over the bluesy soulfulness.

I loved the intro to What’s Mine Is Yours. A slow simple muscular sliding riff, then some repeated ringing noise, then a bit of feedback before launching into the song. I also loved the change of Let’s Call It Love into Entertain. Carrie’s guitar subtly shifted, and Janet’s drums subtly shifted, in a way that was especially cool and smooth this time. When you first recognize Entertain, you realize Hey, it’s been as much Entertain as Let’sCall It Love for quite a few bars now.

At the end of Entertain, and Carrie has been doing this all along, the guitar strap gets flung off just before the last note, and she’s practically walking off the stage guitar in hand: the last thing you hear is a kind of throttled squelched chord she gets out of the hand she’s carrying the thing off with. It’s a
commanding way to end the show.

One More Hour to start the encore. Mother straight into Dig Me Out to end it.

One Louder has some pics and a full review. Excerpted below:

There’s a real divide between S-K’s old and new sounds, and it’s difficult to reconcile the two on stage. It might be why a ragged “Light Rail Coyote” didn’t come together till near its end, and why “One More Hour” sounded rough. That’s not to say the old tunes should be off limits – “Sympathy” and “Dig Me Out” were two of the night’s best songs – but I think the band is still figuring out how to strike the best sonic balance. And I’m more than happy to hang on for the ride. I expect big things from Sleater-Kinney shows, and this one delivered as usual.

Setlist
The Fox
Wilderness

One More Hour
Rollercoaster
Light Rail Coyote
Modern Girl
Sympathy
Everything
What’s Mine Is Yours
Steep Air
Far Away

Jumpers
Let’s Call It Love -> Entertain
–
Oh!
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
Step Aside
Words + Guitar
Mother (Danzig) -> Dig Me Out

This was Sleater-Kinney’s first show in Burlington. Corin said it’s a pretty cool club we’ve got. Carefully disguised as a strip mall. She wouldn’t know that the club recently moved, and that the old place was not just behind the mall, but in it.

Local favoritism maybe, but it was a better show than Montreal. An enthusiastic audience, and the kids were dancing. Not everyone, not half of everyone, not even a third or a quarter of everyone, but enough. Especially towards the end. I think there was a localized lessening of the force of gravity somewhere around Rollercoaster. Corin felt it: she hopped more than I’ve ever seen, especially Let’s Call It Love.

Sympathy got a big audience reaction. That’s one powerful song.

I’m still liking Everything.

Bright Lights Tonight in the encore.

Carrie gave w+g an intro. I wouldn’t know what I’m talking about, but discordant doublestop pulloffs, then ringing tones, or somesuch. I’d say her vocals were mixed a bit low, except it’s probably just my blasted eardrums.