by Kate Hoos | Oct 28, 2021
Lucy Dacus at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Kate Hoos)
Lucy Dacus kicked off a three night run at Brooklyn Steel on Monday 10/25 as part of her current tour supporting her brilliant new record, Home Video. I was lucky enough to catch her at her last minute Brooklyn show back in August at Music Hall of Williamsburg (see our pics and write up) and was very much looking forward to this run, especially because she also had Bartees Strange on the road with her. I missed his recent Mercury Lounge show (see Edwina Hay’s pics for FTA from that show) and was more than thrilled to be in attendance for this dream come true double bill.
Bartees Strange has been blowing up recently on the strength of his fantastic 2020 album, Live Forever, and it is so well deserved. I remember just a few short years ago seeing him on local DIY shows in Brooklyn and I always love to see folks from our local community achieve the success they deserve (I also have seen his drummer, Jordyn Blakely, perform in a few other BK based projects over the years too, namely Sharkmuffin and Smile Machine). He opened the show on Monday with gusto and put on an electrifying performance featuring mostly songs from Live Forever as well as a new song, “17,” and a cover of “Lemonworld” by The National. Watching his set, it was so obvious to me that it is not going to be much longer before he’s not the opener at a venue like Brooklyn Steel, but the headliner and I am absolutely so excited to be there for that in the future.
Lucy Dacus didn’t keep fans waiting long and was positively radiant when she came to the stage. Her set featured the entirety of Home Video (sans “Please Stay”) and also incorporated a few songs from 2018’s Historian and 2016’s No Burden as well as “La Vie En Rose” by Édith Piaf. For “Going Going Gone” she invited Bartees Strange and his band up on stage for a really fun sing along with them and the rest of the crowd. As was the case last time I saw her, “Thumbs,” was a very intense highlight of the night for me. Having heard it on the album and previously seeing her perform it didn’t lessen the gut punch of it and the impact was still just as strong as I thought about my own difficult relationship with the man who gave me his eyes, taking a moment to close them and reflect as I leaned my head on the support beam I was standing next to. The audience remained in rapt attention throughout as Dacus slayed all of us with her emotional delivery of the song and towards the back of the room, you could have heard a pin drop at times.
Lucy Dacus at Brooklyn Steel
Being a punk at heart, and loving all things LOUD, my favorite moment of the night was the end pairing of “I Don’t Want to Be Funny Anymore,” and “Night Shift.” My personal favorite song from Dacus’ catalog is “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore,” and when that buzzy riff started up, I broke out into a huge smile. “Night Shift” may start off muted and trick a first time listener into thinking its a mellow offering, but when its giant wall of fuzzy feedback kicks in, you feel it’s full force and I for sure felt it hit me all the way in the back by the sound board with the welcome warm arm punch of a friend smirking at you knowingly.
Another nice thing to see at the show was the lovely stage production. The last show at MHOW had been a last minute addition after her opening gig for Bright Eyes had been canceled, so there was no time for any of her own custom stage design but the large backdrop of the tube TV showing actual home videos of Dacus as a child (before the show, with art from Historian and some of her other titles projected during it) was a really great touch and added a layer of nuance to the overall performance. Dacus was very appreciative of the crowd, thanking everyone more than once saying “Ya’ll have been a treat. I’m trying not to be too corny but I do feel very lucky to be here” before thanking everyone for getting vaccinated and wearing masks. She also asked if everyone liked her gown and quipped that she was currently “in her gown era” which was met with hardy cheers and applause. I was unfortunately NOT attending in formal wear, but am indeed a big fan of gown era Lucy (and all eras, lets be real). Perhaps next time I see her, I’ll break out my tie and waistcoat for the occasion, definitely something to consider.
The magic of the night was not quite done yet after that knockout punch of an ending to the set, and Dacus returned for a solo encore to play a new song. She also informed everyone “I left for just enough time to spill tea all over me,” before explaining that she was about to play a brand new song, and much like she did when “Thumbs” was new and unrecorded, asked fans not to record it and joked to “be really mean if you see anyone around you trying.” The song is about New York and she played this song back in August so it was nice to feel a little familiarity with it. As of yet it doesn’t seem to have a title but it is sure to be a knockout on the next album once it gets recorded and released. This was yet another pin dropping moment as every single person in that room remained laser focused on Dacus on stage.
This was a wonderful start to my week and while she may have said all of us were a treat, seeing her perform and feeling her gratitude for her fans is the actual treat. Thank you for the lovely evening Ms. Lucy Dacus.
Bartees Strange Setlist: Far, Mustang, Free Kelly Rowland, Weights, 17, Flagey God, Lemonworld (The National cover), Stone Meadows, Boomer
Lucy Dacus Setlist: Triple Dog Dare, First Time, Addictions, Hot & Heavy, Christine, La Vie En Rose (Édith Piaf cover), Nonbeliever, Yours & Mine, Parter in Crime, Brando, Thumbs, Going Going Gone (with Bartees Strange), I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore, Night Shift. ENCORE- New Song (solo)
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
BARTEES STRANGE
LUCY DACUS
by Kate Hoos | Oct 27, 2021
Screaming Females at Saint Vitus (photo by Kate Hoos)
The first time I saw Screaming Females was 15 years ago at a DIY show that my band at the time was also booked on. I had no idea who they were before the show but remember being knocked on my ass during their set thinking, “who IS this band?!” because they were just that good. At that point they had just self released their first album, Baby Teeth, and were an NJ local much like my band was. Flash forward another few years and my band was long finished and Screaming Females were well deservedly blowing up. In the intervening years I’ve seen them several times since that first shared bill together, most recently at OctFest 2019, but I only caught half of that set and from the back of the crowd due to the nature of festivals having bands overlapping and getting to their stage later. That was definitely a bummer at the time so I was more than thrilled to be get to see them again this past Sunday, this time closer and able to shoot the show too.
The band kicked off a small East Coast run at Saint Vitus on Saturday night 10/23 playing with Freezing Cold. That show sold out pretty much immediately, so they added a second show at Vitus for Sunday 10/24 which I was able to attend. This night saw them joined by their long time friends/showmates, Shellshag, who put on a damn exciting show. They are one of those bands I’d somehow missed every chance they were playing near me so this was actually my first time seeing them, a real shame for my past self because they were great. They remind me of a cross between the Mecca Normal and Beat Happening, two bands I really love and who were formative for me. This duo is a mighty burst of good vibes and fun times, something we can all use in these weird and uncertain days we find ourselves navigating through over the last several years now. I’ll take every ounce of that I can get.
Screaming Females hit the stage in absolutely peak form, and really the only way to experience the full force of guitarist Marissa Paternoster’s epic shredding is up close and personal so it was awesome to finally get to do that again. They began the set with “Glass House,” the opening track from 2018’s All at Once which is a big favorite for me. “Ripe,” is also another very big favorite for me and those aforementioned shreds were burning hot, offset with the slinky bounce of King Mike’s bass line swirling all around, for an absolute highlight of the night. Other highlights included “Dirt,” and “Bird In Space.” Closing with “I’ll Make You Sorry,” the band finished and didn’t play an encore but really, with not one person in the crowd standing still during it, do you even need to follow it up? It was the perfect end and I always say, don’t mess with that. (Though I do admit, I would have liked to have heard “Black Moon,” at some point in the set but I was more than happy with the rest of the set so it’s all good.)
Having had the unique opportunity to have seen them very early in their career and then again all these years later, I can firmly attest that Screaming Females are just as exciting and fresh as they were that first time I saw them 15 years ago, the obvious advantage now is that they have grown as song writers and can pull from a much bigger catalog. I only wish I could have kept going with the tour to see the rest of the run.
Scroll down to see pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
SHELLSHAG
SCREAMING FEMALES
by Kate Hoos | Oct 26, 2021
The Death Set at Our Wicked Lady (photo by Kate Hoos)
I’m not quite sure when or how I initially came across glitch punks The Death Set, but I do know it was in the mp3 blogosphere era circa 2006/2007ish around the time their first EP, To, was released. By the time 2008’s Negative Thinking was out, they had become a firm mix CD staple for me and I’d put them on every disc I made for someone. Unfortunately during that time of my life I wasn’t able to go to shows a whole lot due to the (very draining) job I had at the time so I never got to see them play. I also admit I kind of lost track of what they were up to after the death of founding member Beau Velasco in 2009, though would periodically revisit the old EPs over the years. Not really having kept track, I definitely was surprised to see a show announced in Brooklyn in the summer of 2019. I sadly couldn’t make that show (for reasons I don’t even remember now) and then…we all know what came next.
Flash forward to late 2021 and shows coming back to being reality. I was beyond excited that the band was not only putting out a new record, How To Tune A Parrot, but was also playing a release show in Brooklyn at Our Wicked Lady. And with one of the best bands on earth, Rebelmatic, to boot? SCHEDULE CLEARED IMMEDIATELY because there was absolutely no way I was going to miss that night. Also on the bill was harsh industrial metal rapper EU10GY (who I had recently heard, but not actually seen, during a shift I was working at one of my venue jobs when he was opening a show there) to make for a really energetic and sonically varied and intense night.
EU10GY kicked things off and is the creative brainchild of Isaac Shane. The project incorporates samples and beats, as well as live guitar, and weaves in samples juxtaposed with Shane’s vocals. He is a passionate and bombastic performer and it was nice to actually see him in action rather than just hearing it from another part of the venue. Rebelmatic hit the middle spot and it dawned on me as they took the stage that this was actually my first time seeing them inside in quite a while since I’d seen and/or played with them several times over the last year but it was always outside at one of their pop up events (they are now at 32 and still going strong. See pics from show 31 by Ellen Qbertplaya).
But the setting makes no difference really – indoors, outdoors – it doesn’t matter because there is never a time where you are going to see these guys at anything less than 200% on stage, they have more energy than just about any other band I can think of. Regular drummer Ramsey Jones was upstate recording with another project, so they were joined on stage by fill in drummer, Ish, who is a member of hardcore band, Fear Is Dead, and he fit in seamlessly with the band despite having the very big shoes of Jones to fill. Firing on every single cylinder, they put on another performance that resonated through the room down to the street below and absolutely won them a slew of new fans in the process.
The Death Set at Our Wicked Lady
I was already having a great night by time The Death Set hit the stage and it only got better from there. They played a lot of songs from the new record of course, but I was also thrilled that they played several of the early classics that I love so much because I wasn’t sure that they would go far back in the catalog. “Around The World,” “Intermission,” and “Negative Thinking,” are among my favorites and they blipped through all of them much to my delight. I was also hoping to hear “Overload Damage,” the opening track of the new album and my new favorite which they hit towards the end of the set. And speaking of high energy performances, lead singer and founding band member Johnny Siera didn’t spare an ounce of it on stage and was on and off the drum kit several times, in and out of the audience, and bopping all over the place with his guitar.
Towards the end of the set the sound tech attempted to tell the band to stop playing and said “one more song” a few times but they played about five more before they finally ended which got no complaint from me or anyone else in the audience. Though to be fair, this may have been less an act of defiance and more that the tech kind of mumbled it into his mic and didn’t project it at all, so it’s entirely possible the band didn’t hear it on stage (I did a double take at first and wasn’t sure the first time in fact) and he didn’t make much of an issue about enforcing it fortunately. After waiting all this time to see them, it would have been a huge bummer for them to get the plug pulled so I’m really glad that didn’t happen.
Slap, slap, slap, pound up, down, snap, we go around the world and do what must be done, negative thinking can ruin your life, in hind site I don’t want to be like the people I liked, In your eye, weapons fly, Don’t even try to feel our size, Wonder why the people cry The motherfuckin’ DeathSet!
Need I say more?
Scroll down to see pics from the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
EU10GY
REBELMATIC
THE DEATH SET
by Kate Hoos | Oct 26, 2021
Shawna Potter at the 2019 launch of her book, Making Spaces Safer (photo by Kate Hoos)
Shawna Potter is the front woman of the explosive and vital feminist hardcore band War On Women. The band is currently on the road supporting Bad Religion and Alkaline Trio for their first tour back after the pandemic halted everyone in their tracks. She took some time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions about on life on the road, what she and the rest of the band have been up to, and more. Scroll down to see what she had to say.
War On Women performing in 2019 (photo by Kate Hoos)
You just played an acoustic show recently, prior to the start of the tour supporting Bad Religion and Alkaline Trio, how did that feel to be back performing again after the pandemic?
It felt good, like an actual show. Those first few live-streamed acoustic things were cool to try at first, but they don’t compare at all to playing in front of real live people. I was also happy to have a lower stakes situation to remember how the fuck to perform again in the first place. My big takeaway lesson was to shut up and sing. (You win this round, misogynists!)
War On Women’s latest album, Wonderful Hell, came out almost a year ago now even though obviously you haven’t been able to tour it yet, are you excited to play those songs for audiences now?
It’s been officially out a year, actually, but yes, I can’t wait to see what weird dance moves my brain comes up with for “Aqua Tofana.”
Cover art of Wonderful Hell
What are you most looking forward to being back on the road? How do you keep yourself sane with the downtime/tour self care routines?
I’m most looking forward to rocking the fuck out! This will be the first time we play songs off the new album and I cannot wait. And touring has been my life since I was 14 years old so it feels very familiar, comfortable, to get back to it after all this time off. It was harder to plan of course, I was out of practice dealing with all the logistics pre-tour, and that’s always the worst part, but we pulled it off. It can be tough, too, but yeah having routines helps. On off days I try to jog or workout, and I’m an avid cross-stitcher which keeps me off my phone (sometimes). And this tour I actually have some work I need to do, but in a fun way? For example, I’m doing research on theater intimacy choreography, hoping to add it to my repertoire of services I can provide. We’ll see if I can stay off my phone long enough to accomplish anything.
What did you get up to during the time the pandemic forced us all to stay inside?
Oh wow, well first I want to acknowledge I was very lucky that I didn’t lose anyone close to me, and I was able to survive until unemployment kicked in, which was just a total chance thing. So I accomplished some things that would absolutely not have gotten done otherwise. By being home and not constantly touring or planning for the next tour, I was able to buy a house during that sweet spot when rates were low and it was still a buyer’s market, finally getting out of an apartment where the rent just kept increasing. Once I settled into the new place, I had dog-fever and was able to adopt a sweet and complicated 3 year old pit bull named Rosie that benefits from my ability to work from home. I’ve been conducting virtual safer space and bystander intervention trainings, doing feminist consultations, and I even started a podcast called But Her Lyrics… It’s a great excuse to interview cool and smart people, experts in their fields, about the things I sing about. I get to talk to the band about writing and recording our songs and explain the inspiration and meaning behind it all. To help support that I have a Patreon where I share bonus content and pictures of Rosie, of course.
War On Women performing in 2019 (photo by Kate Hoos)
What music/artists/books/podcasts/shows are you excited about right now?
This is a very incomplete and inaccurate list, but I have been watching Squid Game, and falling asleep to Bojack Horseman (somehow it’s a perfect show to decompress in my bunk after a long day), I’ve been listening to Jessica Pratt “Quiet Signs” to chill out, and now that we’re on the road I have no time or patience for podcasts or anything mentally challenging.
In keeping with the mission of your book, Keeping Spaces Safer, what responsibility do you feel venues have in keeping artists/fans/employees safe in the realm of COVID precautions? And concurrently, what role do artists play? What can fans do?
My book, Making Spaces Safer, definitely does not specialize in human health and safety issues, but it does touch upon how many venues and groups already have systems in place that are so normalized we don’t even think about them: signage about how to help someone who is choking, fire extinguishers, defibrillators, and now even Narcan for fentanyl test strips. So the book argues that adding identity-based harassment to our concept of public safety is not only worth doing, but that it can be done simply and cheaply, becoming normalized like anything else. COVID-precautions are similar. There’s a bit of a learning curve, or even inertia maybe on the part of those in charge, but once best practices are decided upon they can be added to current routines. From what I’m seeing so far, clubs have great policies about masks, hand sanitizer, etc, but they are unable or unwilling to enforce them strictly. So a club with a mask requirement might have about 30% of the audience actually wearing masks while we play. That’s scary! I would like to see more enforcement, and more audience members taking their own health and the health of those around them (including their favorite touring band that they just paid money to see!) more seriously, and more headliners requiring the clubs they play to enforce mask wearing and proof of vaccination or recent negative test to get in.
Can you elaborate a bit on your work as an educator/consultant to venues and how that has been received and how can that translates out into other applications?
Well I’m lucky enough to just work with people who want me, right, so no need to go into a hostile environment. So it’s been going really well, people seem to be benefiting from the easy system I provide to handle complaints of harassment and try to prevent it from happening in the first place. If someone can’t afford to hire me for a private training, that is what my book is for, people can absolutely go DIY with safer spaces. I also teach bystander intervention (generally and for the workplace), and I don’t see the need for these trainings going away any time soon, unfortunately. If anyone is interested in hiring me, they can reach out via shawnapotter.com.
War On Women performing in 2018 (photo by Kate Hoos)
We made it through the Trump regime (barely it feels like), but what next? How do we keep up the fight when naturally a lot of people tend to let their guard down during Democratic administrations thinking we are past the worst threat? How do we avoid lulling ourselves into a false sense of security?
This is a tough one, especially because we’re dealing with crisis-fatigue, but I think not only is Biden is fucking up enough to warrant our attention, but so many Republican-run states are hell bent on stripping away the basic rights of anyone who is not rich, white, and male. So there is always more work to do. But when we feel overwhelmed we can always look local and tell your representatives what you want and don’t want, and make sure to vote every single election if you are someone privileged enough to not have your voting rights challenged all the time.
And to follow up on that, how do you stay inspired/fight fatigue to keep doing the work you’re doing in the wake of the terrible things that keep happening all the time (the horrible abortion restrictions in Texas, continual violence against women/gnc/BIPOC/queer people, etc etc etc sadly….etc etc etc) How do we stay focused when sometimes, all of that can be very overwhelming? What do you do to work in self care to make sure you’re okay but still keep up the fight? Is it okay to take breaks sometimes?
I have BEEN on a break, so yeah, it’s necessary. I think recognizing where I can have the most impact and just putting my efforts there has been helpful. I can’t do everything, but I can do something. Right? And that will be different for everyone, which is good. And also knowing that the urgency we feel looking at social media is often false, so taking some time for yourself is fine and necessary to get back to it as your best, full self.
One of the things I love about your lyrics, and their delivery, is that while they address very serious topics, they are often very sarcastic and have a lot of snark and bite. Political sarcasm is not easy to pull off but when wielded correctly, is a powerful tool to get the point across to audiences. Was this a conscious choice to approach these difficult subjects this way or is it something that just naturally happened when you started to write lyrics for this band?
Oh I’m just snarky, I can’t help it. I am glad to know that you can tell I’m doing it on purpose, though! If I analyze it, I could argue that adding some sarcasm deflects any potential critiques of taking ourselves too seriously, you know that classic insult thrown at feminism in general: no sense of humor. But I also have no problem admitting that I’m not such an expert in every subject I sing about or care about, so I wouldn’t want to feel like I’m full on lecturing anyone. Can’t say that about all men in punk!
I know Brooks (lead guitar) is now playing guitar in Jawbox, and you both also run Big Crunch Amps in Baltimore. Everyone else has other projects/pursuits going on too, what are some of the things Sue (bass), Jenarchy (rhythm guitar), and Dave (drums) are up to outside of the band?
Ah, well Jenarchy is in like 1,000 other bands, so check out their Instagram to see what all they have going on. Dave plays guitar and sings in a band called Black Lung, which tours when we’re not. Sue has just been busy being a computer scientist and working on some sort of database for COVID-related info? Can you tell I didn’t actually understand what she told me she was doing? Frankly it’s a wonder that we’re ever able to get anything done, but I think we all value this band and what it stands for and make sure to make time for it.
Anything you’re working on that you can share? Have you been working on new music?
We have, but thankfully it got interrupted by going on tour! So we’ll start messing around with new stuff early next year, I’m sure. We technically fulfilled our contract with Bridge Nine so we have the option to work with another label, but we’re not sweating it. We’ll just see what happens. I’m also reassessing how I want to use my Patreon, if I should continue my podcast, or what. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!
Shawna Potter is the front woman of War On Women, the author of Making Spaces Safer, and an educator. She hosts the podcast But Her Lyrics…
by Kate Hoos | Oct 25, 2021
Shannon and the Clams at Webster Hall (photo by Kate Hoos)
The fabulously glam and as always wonderfully coifed Shannon and the Clams hit Webster Hall this week as part of their current tour in support of their newest offering, Year Of The Spider. The album came out at the end of the summer, just in time for the band to get on the road after over a year of you-know-what had made that an impossibility. Addressing themes of doom, disaster, love and beauty, the album is their most audacious yet and fans were hungry to hear the songs performed live.
I had not yet seen Shannon and the Clams perform so was excited to be able to finally get to do so. I unfortunately missed the opening act, Delicate Steve, but made it in right before the headlining set and settled into the photo pit with a few moments to spare before the first notes rang out. Lead singer/bassist Shannon Shaw’s vocal presence is the star of the show and my favorite part of this band; seeing her perform live definitely strengthened that for me. Easily filling the whole room with their doo-wop girl group inspired sound, the band held the audience in rapt attention in the palm of their hand for the duration of the evening.
The world is weird and hard, but when the going gets tough, a Shannon and the Clams set is exactly what I needed to shake things off and the midweek pick me up we all deserve.
Scroll down to see pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
SHANNON AND THE CLAMS
The Death Set at Our Wicked Lady
