I went to see Corin Tucker’s band at the Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday night. I really had to prod myself to go there after Economics class, but like most things you make yourself do, I was glad I went. The atmosphere was surprisingly mellow- nothing like the super charged feeling of a Sleater-Kinney show. Aussie singer-song writer Darren Hanlon was a great opener and told stories of traveling through middle America and begin offered “vegetarian” scrambled eggs with only a “little bit of bacon” in them. While the opening bands were cool, everyone was clearly waiting for Corin. She arrived on stage looking ravishing in a shimmering silver vintage dress and, of course, cheers broke out.
Corin in her beautiful dress
The set itself featured songs from her new record “1,000 years,” which I wrote about for Venuszine. Her opener, “Thrift Store Coats,” a rumination on the recession, felt especially chilling live, and the air felt charged, expectant and unexpectedly low-key. The band slowly picked up the tempo and and delivered pure rock perfection. However, the band and the audience both seem wiser from age. A common commentary I heard (and felt) was “I am going to be late for work tomorrow,” accompanied by a yawn. This is not to say the show was not perfectly engaging. It was simply more intimate, mature, and understanding of life’s limitations and triumphs, both large and small.
It was a real treat to hear Corin's distinctive voice again
A nice surprise was the band’s cover of the Au Pair’s “It’s Obvious,” with the hard hitting chorus, “You’re equal, but different!” taking on new significance with the greater wisdom that (just a little bit of) age brings. Another treat of the set was drummer Sara Lund’s (of Unwound fame) work. She did double duty, playing with openers Hungry Ghost, and then changing into a cocktail dress for her appearance with Corin’s band. As anyone who listens to Unwound knows, she is the kind of precise, melodic, but absolutely rhythmic drummer that is very rare in rock music.
Sara Lund, a little buried behind the drums and other percussion
Want more photos? Check out my flickr stream.
If you were like me and grew up in the 1990’s and loved punk rock and feminism, you loved Sleater-Kinney. It’s no longer the 90’s (though with all the plaid coming back this season and all the reissues of classic grunge records you might wonder) and I’m no longer a teenager, but I still love Sleater-Kinney, punk rock, and feminism. I still have not yet found a band as compelling as Sleater-Kinney (though Electrelane filled the gap after Sleater-Kinney disbanded in 2006, but then they broke up too!). I liked S-K long enough to get over my initial teenaged rock star worship and went from buying a ticket to a show in Boston I was too young to go to and hoping for the best to being impressed with their guitar chops on their last record The Woods. They were just a really solid band. Every album brought an innovative approach to their sound. Their live shows were breathtaking and the members were well spoken and stylish to boot. All this to say that despite my ambivalence about music lately I was very excited to hear that Corin Tucker has a new project (and with Sara Lund from Unwound on drums no less!) and jumped at the chance to interview her and write a profile for Venuszine. Her new record, 1,000 Years, is solid as ever and as always, she is always thinking deeply about what’s going on in society and her personal life and working that into her songwriting. Please check out the full profile on Venuszine 
Killerfemme 