Sleater-Kinney Concert Review

Vocalist, guitarist, and Portlandia alum Carrie Brownstein thanked the crowd for choosing to see Sleater-Kinney Saturday night (07.27.24) instead of all the other things going on in Cleveland. “Thanks for choosing us over MMA,” she said in her deadpan manner, giving the crowd a good laugh, as they all knew the overlap between the veteran feminist-punk band and the fighting sport is probably quite small. I’m sure to many in the crowd the choice would have been easy no matter what. It was a perfect night to see the band against the backdrop of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which brought Sleater-Kinney as part of their summer concert series lineup. 

As the sun set and the night came on, they kicked off their set with newer songs, “Hell” and “Needlessly Wild,” from 2024’s ‘Little Rope,’ showcasing the legendary voice of vocalist Corin Tucker. Over a third of the setlist would be songs from their new album. Normally, it wouldn’t be expected of a crowd to be excited to hear a new album-heavy setlist, but that was not the case tonight! People sang along to the new songs just as much as the old ones. Just like any true Indie band, Sleater-Kinney’s fans are die hard, and have stayed fans during break-ups and member replacements, giving the band a staying power that is hard to find in music.

While Tucker and Brownstein have remained in the band since its inception, others have come and gone. Most recently, in 2019, the band’s long-time drummer exited, leaving new drummer Angie Boylan with some pretty big shoes to fill. And fill them she did, helping to bridge the gap between old songs and new ones!

There were indeed some old songs on the setlist, spanning back nearly three decades, with 1996’s “I Want to Be Your Joey Ramone” and 1997’s “Dig Me Out.” The latter being the band’s biggest “hit,” if they ever had one. But hits and mainstream success were never a part of Sleater-Kinney’s aesthetic. Part of the Riot Grrrl musical movement of the mid-90s, they were never really what you would call a household name. They’ve always been a band you had to discover; a band that influenced the bands you like. The kind of artist that may never be inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame but will always be celebrated for their contributions to their scene.

Even after 30 years, Tucker’s voice, one of the band’s main hallmarks, sounded just as good as it ever did (in 2023, Rolling Stone had her on the list of the 200 best singers). Having only heard studio albums, I was blown away at how great her voice sounded in person, proving another great quality of a good Indie band like Sleater-Kinney: their albums, no matter how good they are, just never do the live show justice.

Another thing that hasn’t changed is the band’s political message. Not only is it an undercurrent in their lyrics, they were also very outspoken live. Tucker made sure to tell everyone to register to vote, and then took it a step further when she said to vote for “Kamala F*#cking Harris,” exciting the crowd yet again.

What is fun about a band with such a long career and 11 studio albums, is that there’s just so much to choose from. Songs like “Oh!” were recently reintroduced to some setlists, after nearly ten years, giving the crowd yet another chance to sing along. Songs like “Dress Yourself,” were for “If you’ve ever watched someone go through something painful,” as Brownstein said. Newer songs like “Don’t Feel Right,” with their ethereal tones and synths, complemented older, more straightforward punk songs, giving Carrie opportunities to get a surprising amount of air in her jumps and to dance across the stage. 

The fierce passion of their younger punk roots was just as present as the older, more contemplative selves on songs like “Untidy Creatures,” when Tucker handed her guitar off, left the stage, and then reappeared down in front to finish singing the song, belting the lyrics with so much intensity. They closed out the set with a four-song encore, two of which were the aforementioned songs from the early years, and yet another new song, moving and kicking across the stage the entire time, showing they are still capable of truly jamming out after all these years.