With Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein starting to lose her voice Monday night, the band made a few alterations so the show could go off without a hitch, as the seminal punk band visited Mr. Smalls Theater in Millvale on their Little Rope tour.
A pair of songs where Brownstein does more singing — “Don’t Feel Right” and “Hurry On Home” — were cut from the setlist. Later, on “Hunt You Down,” she skipped the chorus. And with “Modern Girl,” the song started as an instrumental, with the packed crowd singing the first verse before Brownstein joined in. And, of course, there was the powerhouse voice of her bandmate, Corin Tucker, to fill any gaps.
“Corin is literally my favorite singer,” Brownstein said, “so I could stand up here and listen.”
The limitations didn’t really cause any issues, as the band showcased their new album with seven songs from “Little Rope,” which was handy, since Tucker handles the majority of the vocals on that record anyway. Live highlights from that album included “Hell,” “Say It Like You Mean It” and “Untidy Creature.”
Beyond the new record, Sleater-Kinney visited six of their other 10 albums, with a powerful rendition of “Jumpers,” which, according to Brownstein, “is a song about despair.”
Brownstein may have been wrestling with her voice, but her stage presence showed no ill effects, as she shimmied, unleashed guitar windmills and played while laying down flat on her back.
Never a band to shy away from social or political statements, Tucker expressed hope in Kamala Harris, called Project 2025 “(expletive) dark” and encouraged the crowd to get out to vote come the fall.
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As Brownstein lamented some touring issues, she likened being in a band to being a mover.
“There’s never not been a year since 1994 that I’ve not carried my amp up and down basement stairs,” she said. “That’s not a brag. It’s just reality. I’m not saying everyone does that. But most of the bands we like probably still do that. Anyway, there’s something about this whole tour that feels very 1995 or 1996.”
The show in Pittsburgh was the first night of six straight shows, with a show in Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday, but Brownstein shrugged it off before the encore of “Good Things,” “Dig Me Out” and “The Center Won’t Hold.”
“We’ll just give it our all,” Brownstein said, “and Delaware will get the leftovers.”
More from Sleater-Kinney with a packed @MrSmallsTheatre pic.twitter.com/GelAJbVoW5
— Mike Palm (@MikePalmMedia) July 30, 2024
Die Spitz, an all-female punk quartet from Austin, Texas, started the night with a raw, energetic performance.
Three of the band members handled lead vocals, with Ellie Livingston a fireball of headbanging and leg kicks, amid a balancing act on the barrier between the crowd and stage. Chloe Andrews, who was mostly on drums, swapped places with Ava Schrobilgen in the band’s 45-minute set of grungy, fuzzy bangers.
More from @DieSpitz at @MrSmallsTheatre pic.twitter.com/Bdx5CH2FK8
— Mike Palm (@MikePalmMedia) July 30, 2024
