As regular readers know, my favorite band is Sleater-Kinney. I’ve probably seen them around 50 times at this point, and it never gets old. For folks who don’t know, Sleater-Kinney was originally a supergroup comprised of members of Excuse 17 and heavens to betsy. heavens to betsy are an important part of the story, and their sole full-length record, Calculated, as well as the These Monsters Are Real EP, have been a steady presence on my turntables, in my DiscMans, and on my portable digital music devices for the vast majority of my life.
At first, I didn’t believe that heavens to betsy were playing again. The marketing was simply paper flyers posted around Portland, and it all seemed, I don’t know… Like it’s a new band with an old name? It really didn’t feel real until they played their first show over the summer at a tiny space in Portland. I really didn’t believe it until I saw this video of Corin Tucker and Tracey Sawyer sounding, well, like it was 1991. Then they announced a full-on tour, and I snagged tickets to their Bottom Of The Hill immediately. THEN THEY ADDED A SECOND SHOW. Despite being rational, I ended up buying tickets to both within moments of them going on sale.
The story here is just about day 1. Opening the show was The Lilies, who played a really solid set of punk rock. They were down a bass player tonight, but they packed such a ferocious punch as a duo that I didn’t feel anything was missing. They even managed to squeeze in a cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” that was fast, furious, and a delight.
Next up was The Street Eaters. Local punk rock icons. They play all the time, yet this is my first encounter with them. Why did I wait so long? This set was absolutely fantastic. Groovy and spooky at times, a full-throttle punk rock explosion at other times. Guitarist Joan Toledo is a bloody monster on the six-string, making dynamic soundscapes that exploded like thunder. What a great band… Two solid openers down. Neither band on the bill when the show sold out, but the fans still managed to turn out.
There was clearly a little bit of nerves… I’ve never seen a “shy” Corin Tucker on stage before tonight. But after hitting a few tracks of their newly uncovered early demos record, baby’s gone. After the first instrument switch, as is the classic Riot Grrl tradition, Tucker told a fantastic, funny story about working overnight for a Eugene, OR, newspaper before hitting the drums (with Sawyer on bass) and playing the groove-laden “Factory.” This brought out the band’s silliness and energy. From here on out, it was nothing short of lofi, classic KRS goodness.
Corin Tucker’s voice is in amazing form. She did shy away from some of the more guttural screams, but her belt is probably the purest, most emotive voice in rock n roll. There was a pack of teen girls at her feet that managed to pick up the growls for her, and it balanced out nicely. Tracey Sawyer’s drumming and bass playing are nimble and never once felt like she’d been away for 30 years. (Her other band, The Husbands, is excellent, too)
The whole show was a blissful display of dynamics. The so-called “Sad Girl Music” songs were as potent and undeniable as ever. The fast and furious stuff was played with all the fury of the angry teenagers they were 30+ years ago. The “hits” were chilling — “Calculated” and “Terrorist” both elicited crowd sing-alongs. The one-two punch of an encore of “Waitress Hell” and the punk rock standard “Axeman” left us all wanting at least another two hours of this magic.
I have no idea how long heavens to betsy will keep going. They are clearly having fun, but I’d make my way to one or a dozen of their remaining shows on this tour, because this is the “can’t miss” reunion of 2026.
