It’s been a very long time since I’ve been inside a club. Heck, it’s been a long time since I’ve last been to ANY indoor space where people were openly consuming food or beverage, let alone doing in in tight, compact quarters. I’m fully vaccinated with the extra potent Moderna vaccine. However, I’ve also got a toddler that’s still got a couple of months to go before we can get them vaccinated, so I’ve got good reason to avoid accidentally bringing COVID home with me from anywhere.
Long before vaccines were available, I knew that my first indoor show would be at The New Parish. Why? Because it’s one of the only indoor spaces with a patio connected to the performance space, as well as multiple doors and windows that stay open. It also has very high ceilings, creating the best natural airflow you can get in a space. With fresh air being our best protection against the virus, this felt about as close as you can get outdoors indoors. The band has also been very open on social media about the need to keep the group safe and stay masked at the shows, and by all reports, the audiences have been listening.
When I arrived at the venue, things were already looking quite good. I showed up about 20 minutes before doors and was surprised to see a decent queue waiting in the rain. About 10 minutes before doors, security announced to every in line that they needed to take out their “vaccination card or negative PCR test. If your test does not say PCR on it, it is not good for entry.” They went through the line, checked everyone’s vax card and ID, and then issued wristbands for entry. It was a pleasant and efficient way to go. Throughout the night, when the queue got long again, they continued this process. After your tickets were scanned, another security guard checked wristbands as folks entered the room. They were serious about keeping us safe, and it felt good.
We were treated to an opening set by Los Angeles’ Kills Birds. This band is HEAVY! The weight of Fielder Thomas’ fuzzed-out bass playing practical crushed me, but in a good way. Singer Nina Ljeti jumped between a guttural growl and passionate spoken word in a way to keep one moving on an emotional journey throughout the set. Their sound is so intense and serious that it was surprising how Ljeti smiled and glowed throughout the set. It seemed the magic of getting to perform again was not lost on her, and the ability to connect with a crowd again did not seem like it was being taken for granted. I am definitely on board with seeing Kills Birds again.
The gear switch revealed something shocking. Sleigh Bells usually perform as a duo- just Alexis Krauss on vocals and Derek Miller on guitar. Everything else is played from a laptop. This tour has the band filled out by Chris Maggio on drums and Kate Steinberg on keys and backing vocals. I was initially a little skeptical, primarily because I didn’t think a human could play the complex rhythms that Sleigh Bells use. Then, when the band launched into their current single, “Justine Go Genesis,” the live drums added thunder to the track that was vital for the live show. For the first time in nearly two years, I felt that feeling from hearing truly brutal drumming over chunky, down-tuned guitars. That feeling as if you are sprinting through a field while staying completely still… That feeling of really, truly heavy music. That feeling is a feeling that I’ve missed deeply and dearly.
Krauss has always been one of the most charismatic front people in rock, but this set had her extra fiery. She rarely stopped moving for even a moment. Yet, I somehow managed to make eye contact with every single person in the venue. Krauss is so good at opening herself up to an audience that, despite the sea of masks in the room, everything felt intimate and safe and life for just one hour felt like we could just let go from the dangers of the virus and be one with each other. She’s just that good.
Setlist talk- The show focuses pretty heavily on tracks from their debut record, Treats, which celebrates its 10th birthday this year, with songs off that album even eclipsing this year’s fantastic Texis. And those two records elicited the most epic sing-alongs of the night, including the whole room erupting into a massive scream of “I feel like dynamite! I feel like dynamite” in the chorus of “Locust Laced” and the communal joy of singing “have a heart, have a heart, Sixteen six-six-six like and I know the part” during the chorus of “Rill Rill.” The crowd erupted into a full-on circle pit during “A/B Machines” that managed to keep going even during the ballad, as mentioned earlier, “Rill Rill.”
The most intense moment of the show, however, came at the very end… The rains have been rough and pouring into the venue via the open windows and doors that kept us safe from the virus. This caused the laptop to short out just before the show closer of “Crown On The Ground.” Despite this, as well as one of the entrances to the room literally flooding, the band insisted on powering through, with Krauss showing of her incredible voice by singing the first verse of “Crown…” mostly acapella before the band tour into an entirely sample-free version of the song, closing out one of the most beautiful nights of music that I’ve ever experience.
