Sleater-Kinney Were a Different Kind of Bold in Dallas

Sleater-Kinney emerged from the riot grrrl movement that started in Olympia, Washington, in the early ’90s. Corin Tucker had played in Heavens to Betsy and Carrie Brownstein had been in Excuse 17, and in 1994, the two got together to form what would be the most prolific band to come out of the scene as the scene itself began to fade.

While many bands these days, especially bands with such an undeniable cultural legacy, would take the opportunity to market a tour as a 30th-anniversary tour, Sleater-Kinney made its Tuesday night performance at The Studio at The Factory in Dallas all about looking forward.
With a setlist of about two dozen songs, the band stuck closely to its more recent output in the show, showing that the new material carries as hard a punch as its classic material.

Many critics have noted Sleater-Kinney’s return to sharp, intense songs on its latest album, Little Rope, which many felt had been lacking since the departure of longtime drummer Janet Weiss in 2019.

Through an album about grief and processing the loss of Brownstein’s mother and stepfather, who were killed in an auto accident while on vacation in Italy, Little Rope has Brownstein stepping away from the vocal duties she normally splits with Tucker to let her guitar do the talking.
Brownstein recently told the Observer that, at 15, “I used guitar as a way of trying on boldness and brazenness and even conjuring some of the ugliness and uncertainty that I felt. [...] While grieving, I felt [...] that sense of incoherency, and I think guitar mimics the human voice really well. It has an emotionality. [...] It's a very conversational instrument, and I love that about it. It's very expressive.”

And it is that return to boldness and brazenness that was on full display Tuesday in Deep Ellum.

The night began with a performance from Swinomish/Iñupiaq singer-songwriter Katherine Paul, known by her moniker Black Belt Eagle Scout. Supporting her latest release on Saddle Creek Records, The Land, the Water, the Sky, the dream-pop artist brought the audience swaying into the night with an intensely emotional performance. Sweet, sad and sonically sparse, Paul’s songs left the audience in stunned silence. She, too, had a way of speaking a kind of generational sadness through her guitar.

For a band of Sleater-Kinney’s stature, the crowd seemed surprisingly thin, even for a Tuesday night. Still, the biggest legends often don’t fill stadiums.

The band came on at 9:12 p.m. to the sound of ominous guitar music, taking the stage one by one with Tucker and Brownstein heading to the front of the stage, backed by keys, synths and drums. Two chandeliers overhead and austere cathedral arches served as the backdrop.
The show started with the slow-burning “Hell,” as red lights flooded the stage and the chandeliers flickered. Brownstein smiled as she launched into the song’s incendiary guitar solo.

One gets the sense when watching Brownstein that she genuinely loves leading a band. She appeared visibly pleased when all of its disparate parts flowed together as she approached each band member in songs throughout the show.

Brownstein took over vocal duties in the night’s second song, “Needlessly Wild,” and she and Tucker continued to trade off throughout the night.

For the night’s fifth song, “Small Finds,” Brownstein opened with a gritty intro that immediately got the crowd’s heads nodding.
For “The Center Won’t Hold,” Tucker took to the electronic drums as Brownstein led on vocals, building to a chaotic finale complete with flashing lights and aggressive drums, eliciting one of the strongest responses from the audience.

Between songs, Tucker took the opportunity to remind people of the importance of voting, plugging the registration booths at the back of the venue.

Otherwise, the band kept the stage banter brief, ripping through song after song, building intensity to crowd favorites such as “Jumpers” from The Woods, whose intro sent the audience screaming. After the song, Tucker affirmed, “You’re a fun crowd, Dallas.”

The night’s singalong moment came with the show's penultimate song, “Modern Girl,” again from The Woods. Those who didn’t know the words just swayed back and forth to the beat.
The show ended with a new song, “Untidy Creature,” and the band returned for an encore of two songs: “Say It Like You Mean It” and “Entertain.”

Small crowd though it was, very few left at the pause between songs, each person cheering for a band that had clearly made a personal connection with every member of the audience.

Yes, the show was bold and brazen, but as Brownstein made clear in her interview, this was a different kind of boldness and brazenness. This wasn’t the Sleater-Kinney of old, tearing down walls with defiant cries and sick guitar riffs. This was a more understated assertiveness — one that could only be delivered by an older and wiser band, still with sick guitar riffs.