Waxahatchee Takes LA, pt II

WAXAHATCHEE

GIRLPOOL

UPSET

THE ROXY, LA

28 APRIL, 2015

A rare incursion to the west side of LA found us checking out the refurbished Roxy on, as they say, the fabulous Sunset Strip for the Waxahatchee tour, with support from Girlpool and Upset. Well into day two of major sleep deprivation, all it took was a quick pre-show visit to Mel's Diner to put things right. Just weeks ago we saw Upset in a beach side rec room, and the graduation to the same stage Bruce Springsteen laid waste to 40 years ago was a thing to behold. And hold their own they did, careening through their set to an already stuffed house.

Having seen Girlpool primarily at house parties or all ages spaces, the question was how the transition to a full bar show would go, especially given the intimate nature of their music. Having done tours opening up for Jenny Lewis, and now Waxahatchee, it turns out there was not a worry to be had, as they dialed up the sass, and kept their focus throughout the Talky McTalksters, and emerged unscathed from the "typical LA audience". Bonus points for spilling the beans on being part of the as-yet officially announced FYF lineup for 2015.

As for Waxahatchee, the big news for this tour was the super sizing of the lineup to a quintet, and the onboarding of Allison Crutchfield (Swearin') to round out the lineup. On the heels of 2013's Waxahatchee/Swearin' tour, one held out hope, and for those who never got to see the sisters together onstage in their PS Eliot days, it was a dream come true. Obviously there was no hitch in the getalong stylistically, and the skeleton of the set was built around the brand new Ivy Tripp, beginning with the double-shot of "Breathless"/"Under A Rock" and ending with "Bonfire". "<" and Cerulean Salt's "Lips and Limbs" got hypercharged readings as well. Katie returned to the stage after the main set for a brief multi-song acoustic encore, touching on material new and old, holding the now-tamed audience rapt.

WAXAHATCHEE

GIRLPOOL

UPSET