Dry Cleaning at Pioneer Works (photo by Leah Bouchier-Hayes)
On Thursday February 2nd 2023, Dry Cleaning wrapped up their North American tour with a sensational sold out show at Red Hook’s Pioneer Works. The London four piece have been on the road in support of their incredible second album Stumpwork.
Dry Cleaning are a one of a kind band. With front woman Florence Shaw’s captivating vocals/spoken word over fellow bandmates Tom Dowse, Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton rich tapestry of punk, hardcore, alternative rock inspired sounds. Dowse’s guitar expertly weaves around Shaw’s rhythmic vocals, filling in the gaps with beautiful swells. Maynard’s funky bass licks and fancy hair flicks will keep you entertained for hours. Buxton’s drums beating at the heart of their sound tying everything together.
As one would expect, the 17 song set list was a balanced mix of older and newer tracks. To round out the sound for these shows (particularly for the newer songs) the band brought along a couple extra musicians. One to add extra guitar and vocals and then crowd favorite, Bruce, on saxophone duties. Every time Bruce made an appearance, the crowd gave an enthusiastic call of “Brruuuuuuce” which as Florence jokingly pointed out— it’s unfortunate to have a name that sounds a lot like a “Boo” when people in a crowd are calling for you.
Dry Cleaning at Pioneer Works
On the night, Dry Cleaning were joined by SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE and Nourished by Time. Nourished by Time, who kicked the whole night off, really started things on the right foot and brought a great energy into the space. SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE were sounding great despite having to stop due to some technical issues. This lead to them jumping to the end of their set a little early, but they still delivered a fantastic performance and certainly ended it with high energy and seemed to laugh it off and enjoy themselves. The show must go on. And so it did.
Dry Cleaning seem to go from strength to strength and are growing more and more confident with every show. I hope it won’t be too long until we see them back in New York.
Scroll down for setlist, fan shot videos, pics of the show (photos by Leah Bouchier-Hayes)
Setlist: Kwenchy Kups, Gary Ashby, Scratchcard Lanyard, Viking Hair, Her Hippo, Hot Penny Day, Leafy, Stumpwork, No Decent Shoes for Rain, Don’t Press Me, Conservative Hell, Driver’s Story, Strong Feelings, Unsmart Lady, Magic of Meghan, Liberty Log, Anna Calls from the Arctic
NOURISHED BY TIME
SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE
DRY CLEANING
