A surge of excitement rushed through The Showbox – one of Seattle’s most historic venues- and transformed into an electrified, hushed pause as Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker took the stage. The longtime founding members of Sleater-Kinney, the Pacific Northwest-based band whose brazenly bold lyrics and strikingly sharp compositions helped place “Riot Grrl” into the glossary of essential musical history, grabbed their guitars and strummed out the delicately dark intro to “Hell,” from their 2024 release Little Rope. After several stated measures highlighting Corin’s crystalline calls and Carrie’s sustained chords, the two careened into the song’s chorus. The sound of the band’s iconic incendiary wails and intricate guitar work took to the air, hit the walls, and pierced the ears of the awestruck, sold-out crowd on the first of two back-to-back shows.
Sleater-Kinney continued to fill the venue with their distinctive sonic aberrations that featured acerbic lyrics exploring the weight of the world from internal and external vantage points. Carrie embraced the lead in the angularly structured “Needlessly Wild” (Little Rope), with Corin stepping in to create the co-fronted vocal/guitar collaboration found in many of their compositions, including the brusque “Bury Our Friends” from 2015’s No Cities to Love, and the sleek “The Center Won’t Hold,” the title track from the band’s 2019 release.
Corin and Carrie’s clarion calls moved into a round of classics, which included “One More Hour” from 1997’s Dig Me Out and 2000’s eponymous “All Hands on the Bad One.” Together, the consecutive songs showcased Sleater-Kinney’s signature polyphonic sonic lexicon where mellifluous vocals effortlessly intertwine with complex guitar arpeggios. The band then moved toward darker poetic odes that explored multifaceted themes: confronting humanistic fears in “Hunt You Down” (Little Rope), the depths of depression with “Jumpers” (from 2005’s The Woods), and tackling precarious situations in the cautionary Brothers Grimm-meets-Aesop’s fable “The Fox” (The Woods) - each song performed with guttural beauty and biting grace.
The hour-and-a-half show neared its dénouement as Corin unleashed herself from her guitar to perform the stunning “Untidy Creatures” (Loose Ends) alongside the adoring crowd. Following a brief interlude, Sleater-Kinney returned for the time-honored encore with a selection of songs including the critically acclaimed indie-hit “Dig Me Out” and the searing “Entertain” (The Woods). Sleater-Kinney’s impactful show made a palpable impression on the concertgoers, who emerged from The Showbox with a renewed sense of strength, prepared to tackle whatever strange, circumstantial haunts might lurk around life’s sharp corners.
Playlist:
Hell
Needlessly Wild
Bury Our Friends
Small Finds
One More Hour
All Hands on the Bad One
Hunt You Down
Hurry On Home
Start Together
Don't Feel Right
Slow Song
Jumpers
Can I Go On
Six Mistakes
Dress Yourself
The Fox
Modern Girl
Untidy Creature
Encore:
Good Things
Say It Like You Mean It
Dig Me Out
Entertain
