https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xrSuIqrhRU
I woke up this morning to the saddest music news… Sleater-Kinney‘s powerhouse drummer, Janet Weiss, has officially left the band, citing that “the band has moved in a different direction, and it’s time for me to move on.” The news makes her recent performance with Sleater-Kinney on The Tonight Show the final public performance of the classic line-up of this band, which feels as good a time as any to look back on 22 years of some of the most impressive drumming in rock ‘n’ roll music. I’m sad to see her go, but excited to see what both Weiss and the rest of the greatest power trio in rock do from here on out.
Dig Me Out
It’s fair to start at the beginning… After releasing a pair of critically acclaimed records on Chainsaw Records, Sleater-Kinney moved on to Kill Rock Stars and released what would become their signature record, Dig Me Out. Along with the label change, they also brought in Janet Weiss of The Furies and Quasi on drums. This may have been the most consequential drummer and label change since Dave Grohl joined Nirvana as they signed to Geffen. This video of their performance at 924 Gilman’s Punk Rock Prom in 1997 was one of the earliest shows with Weiss, and helped propel the band from great punk band to one of the most consistent and exhilarating live bands in all of music.
The End Of You
When I asked fellow Sleater-Kinney fan and Spinning Platters contributor Chris Rogers his favorite Janet Weiss moment, he said: “Any time I saw her play ‘The End Of You’ live and did that special slow pop-and-lock ritual during the song. < 3 < 3”
Tonight You Belong To Me
Not specifically a Sleater-Kinney performance, but Weiss’s handling of the harmonies with Eddie Vedder at Sleater-Kinney’s 2006 farewell show in Portland, OR (before they returned in 2015) is just chilling.
Modern Girl
Of all songs in the canon, “Modern Girl” is the one I have the hardest time imagining without Weiss. The harmonica + drums bit in the second half shows inhuman skill.
One Beat
In 2017, Sleater-Kinney headlined Music Tastes Good in Long Beach, which is known now as the last full length concert the classic trio of Tucker + Brownstein + Weiss played together. This show was unique, as there was a rotating stage to eliminate the downtime between bands. The show opened with Weiss, alone, spinning while pounding the steady tribal beat of “One Beat” while the rest of the band joined in once the stage stopped moving.
Rock Lobster
It’s hard to pick the best cover song for showcasing Weiss’s skill, so I almost picked Rock Lobster at random. However, eight minutes of punk disco that requires almost robot-grade precision is no easy feat. And it’s the one cover that stayed consistently part of their setlist for 20 years.
Let’s Call It Love/Entertain
Speaking of stamina, this performance from New Year’s Eve 2017 in San Francisco where they take 11 minutes of “Let’s Call It Love” and take it straight into “Entertain” – stretching that song out until they hit midnight – is mighty impressive. Weiss never loses the beat and hits all the fills and the tempo changes as if her heart is beating in that same way. The clip is almost 20 minutes long, and is worth every minute.
