Getting To The Church On Time: Waxahatchee in LA

WAXAHATCHEE

CAYETANA

SNAIL MAIL

REGENT THEATER, LA

29 JULY, 2017

Saturday night marked the return of Waxahatchee to LA, fresh off the release of new LP Out In The Storm, and metaphorically, the title came rudely to life, as the band weathered a blown transmission in their van, and were rescued by tour mates Snail Mail and Cayetana. While the sound may have been a little rough around the edges, and the start a little late, the adrenaline high carried the day, and all three bands more than made their mark. Riding high off of last year's Habit, Baltimore's Snail Mail opened the night with a winning set that turned many a head in the downtown theater. Cayetana filled in the middle, with the Philly trio building their set on new LP, New Kind Of Normal, a May release on their very own Plum Records, culminating in a savage "Bus Ticket", one of the year's best songs. Waxahatchee took the stage, tired but triumphant, and gave their all. Reprising the opening gambit from the Ivy Tripp tour, they opened with Katie Crutchfield front and center, and an almost hymn-like intro, in this case the new "Recite:Remorse", before bashing away. Old favorites were sprinkled in, and the new songs took on a presence even more fiery than the record. The current quintet is indeed, peak Waxahatchee, built up sonically for bigger shows, with twin sister Allison Crutchfield again on board, having finished up touring duties for her solo debut earlier this year. After a grueling day, the stage must have felt like the best kind of welcome home.

SNAIL MAIL

CAYETANA

WAXAHATCHEE

 

For further Waxahatchee related reading:
This Is Our Music...
Once A Creek, Now A River...
Coast To Coast...
Hardly Strictly '14
In LA, '15, pt I
In LA '15, pt II

No Vacation live at SloDoCo

NO VACATION

SLODOCO

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA

04 JUNE, 2017

Every once in a while, the Venue Gods will smile, and on this Sunday night, no less, we found it fit to tuck into the cozy confines of SloDoCo, AKA the San Luis Obispo Donut Company. Mmmm...donuts. San Francisco's No Vacation was our actual reason for being there. The dream-pop five piece is in the midst of a West Coast tour, both alone and with The Bilinda Butchers. Having spent the afternoon at KCPR, the local campus station, they were immediately on the road to San Diego afterward. The run up to the release of their new EP, (on San Diego's Top Shelf Records), is picking up steam, backed by the pair of singles released so far. First single "Mind Fields", buried late in their set, was a definite high point, with the band's penchant for fake endings giving way to a rocking coda. The back room was filled up for the all-ages gig, and the quintet barely fit the small stage, with range of motion not being up for discussion. They funneled it back into the music, and were sharp all the way through.  In more ways than one, a band to keep an eye on. (simple Bavarian Cream, thanks for asking, and it was delicious...)