Allow me to start off-subject if you will. One of my favorite performances of Arctic Monkeys’ “Mardy Bum” that I can never rewatch enough times is the rendition they played at 2006’s Reading Festival. Only a couple of notes in, it is easy to see why. Although perhaps nervous, the band looks quite happy to be there, and the crowd even more so, judging by the fact that they sing along to pretty much every part of the song, and they do so with ardent splendor. And as I stood amongst the crowd for Slothrust’s Saturday night set at The Sinclair, hearing the band play “Like a Child Hiding Behind Your Tombstone” from 2016’s Everyone Else, smiles and all from frontwoman Leah Wellbaum in-between the song’s major moments, the crowd responding with unbridled joy, I find it hard not to find parallels between these two beautiful performances, for this beauty was part of a night of live music that was as every bit welcoming as it was bustling.
You could tell immediately how much the crowd was looking forward to seeing these hometown heroes tear up the stage. Touring in support of the recently released The Pact, the band also delivered plenty of treats from across their discography. There was a little something for everyone that night, with no better proof than the band opening their set with a double dose of Everything Else in the form of “Surf Goth” followed immediately by “Rotten Pumpkin.” From then on, it would be a switch between handfuls of cuts from The Pact and gems from their past. A splendid performance of “7:30am” came after a welcome rendition of “Birthday Cake.” Their earlier mentioned, wonderfully sung-along to performance of “Like a Child” was preceded by their cover of Marcy Playground’s “Sex and Candy,” which was also warmly received. They gifted their fans with a glorious dose of “Magnets, Part 2” following a double whammy of “Fever Doggs” and “The Haunting.” And while perhaps not part of their main selection of songs, the band also dedicated a song’s worth of time to a medley of covers led by bassist Kyle Bann and drummer Will Gorin, and audience voices could not have more eager in their participation.
Of course, to focus only on the songs the band chose or didn’t choose to perform that night would not do the show or band any justice. Leah and co. had total control of the stage the second they stepped onto it. The crowd didn’t just open themselves up to the band. In fact, one could say that they near surrendered themselves completely to the group, welcoming every quip, instrument change, and played note with mountains of energy and uncontained enthusiasm. That isn’t meant to sound frightening – the audience were totally head over heels for the band the entirety of the night, yes, but you couldn’t have gone to a more well-contained, atmospherically friendly show all Saturday night. Coupled with the sing along of “Like a Child,” when a crowd like that responds to Slothrust’s friendly vibes with neighborly spirit of their own, that’s when you know you’ve participated in what could only be described as a memorable evening.
Joining them for the tour was Philadelphia-based band MANNEQUIN PUSSY, and honestly, it’s a bit hard writing about the outfit without gushing about the group entirely. Having now seen them for the seventh time overall, this being the fourth time just this year alone, they delivered a performance that could be only described as killer. Armed with an arsenal of cuts from their two albums released thus far, the band also treated the crowd to a bevy of new songs from their upcoming third LP, and it was all delightful in such a ferocious way. They pulled no punches in performances of everything from the longest song they’ve done thus far, to the sanguine-and-heavy “Romantic,” and the always embraced workout/one-two punch of “Ten” followed by “Everything.” The band even brought back the GP-era cuts “Sneaky” and “Clue Juice,” probably amongst the greatest opening tracks to an album I’ve heard, to an earnest crowd.
Since I’m on that subject, when I say earnest, I mean earnest. To date this was the best response I’ve seen an audience give MANNEQUIN PUSSY. Greeted with as much warmth as their stage peers, one only had to observe the amount of audience members not only rocking out to MANNEQUIN PUSSY’s set, but also greeting them and showering them with praise after the show concluded, that they were there for both bands. And why shouldn’t they be? MANNEQUIN PUSSY are probably the hardest working band I’ve seen take the stage; it’s only fair they get their due.
Indeed, it was a magical night at The Sinclair with wonderful vibes aplenty, shepherded by two incredible bands, and I can only hope that they choose to share the stage with one another again, preferably in the very near future.
Slothrust’s latest album, The Pact, is out now via Dangerbird. Stream it in full below.
Odd Blue Fruit 