Saturday, August 17, 2024
but if you wanna buy around, we might hang out
The band kicked things off with "3 Sisters," the opener to this year's fabulous Tiger's Blood, with Katie starting sans guitar, decked out in a pretty sick looking Royals trucker hat that was flung into the crowd as the band crashed in behind her and they didn't let up from there. There was sparse stage banter and only the briefest of pauses between each song as they tore through all of Tiger's Blood, damn near all of 2020's Saint Cloud, three tunes from 2022's Plains' record, and one brand new song.
but if you wanna buy around, we might hang out
I made it down the Orpheum to see Katie Crutchfield's Waxhatchee last night.
It's about a 10-fold jump to the nearly 3,000 seater from The Plaza (RIP... I guess) and I was kinda curious how things would feel in a much, much bigger room.
It felt great. Really, really great.
The band kicked things off with "3 Sisters," the opener to this year's fabulous Tiger's Blood, with Katie starting sans guitar, decked out in a pretty sick looking Royals trucker hat that was flung into the crowd as the band crashed in behind her and they didn't let up from there. There was sparse stage banter and only the briefest of pauses between each song as they tore through all of Tiger's Blood, damn near all of 2020's Saint Cloud, three tunes from 2022's Plains' record, and one brand new song.
Maybe it's just me, but when it's an artist I've been following for along time, my brain paints a picture of a certain--usually early--point in time. And in my mind's eye, Katie Crutchfield is still cramped in a dingy bar playing very close, almost claustrophobic sounding songs with very minimal backing.
This was anything but.
Her band, that notably features Jeff Tweedy's son, Spencer, on drums, made Crutchfield's songs sound big and expansive, just like they sound on the most recent two records. They stayed close enough to the album arrangements, but they also coloured outside the lines a bit, in the best way--songs were instantly familiar, but the other band members made their presence felt too.
They also looked like they were having the time of their lives and that kind of energy is infectious. There's a lot of harmonies on Tiger's Blood and Saint Cloud, but it seemed like the entire band was mouthing the words 90% of the time whether it was their turn on backing vocals or not. The lead guitarist, at one point, ran over to one of the two multi-instrumentalists for what I can only describe as a secret handshake, and the two walked off stage with their arms around each other to end the night. They all clearly love playing these songs together.
A brief aside on Spencer Tweedy. I'm not going to get into nepobaby discourse. One, because I don't think it applies here. And two, because it's the most tedious thing I can think of. But growing up around Wilco's Glenn Kotche, certainly seems to have its advantages. Spencer definitely has his own style, but like Kotche, he's melodic without being showy, definitely knows when not to play, and he's like a human metronome back there on the kit.
A couple of weeks ago, I'd heard that this tour didn't dip into anything that came out before Saint Cloud, and honestly, I was a little disappointed at first. I love those songs. I love American Weekend. I really love Cerulean Salt. But Katie Crutchfield's changed so much in the last decade plus and those songs would've sounded out of place last night. While not necessarily "better," she's certainly moved on to bigger things and "Hollow Bedroom" would've sounded like it was from a different planet, butting up against "Witches." Also, in the moment, I didn't think about "Coast to Coast" or "Air" once. I was too caught up in how great all the songs from the last 4-5 years sounded.
The set closer, "Fire," featured Crutchfield with just a microphone again and she really took advantage of the Orpheum's big stage, strolling out to either side to acknowledge the crowd, who were all on their feet at that point. I was struck by how natural it all looked. Sometimes you see bands make the jump from bars to theatres (or even stadiums) and they, unsurprisingly, look a little out of their element.
Katie looked like she was ready for an even bigger stage.
now playing: Rilo Kiley - Portions for Foxes
