The Pitchfork Festival treated us to an all-killer lineup at the Roundhouse on Friday, and who better to capture the magic for LOUD WOMEN than our amazing supersnapper Keira Anee. Here's her pit report.
RVG
RVG are ‘Romy Vager Group’, from Melbourne. Singer/songwriter Romy’s lyrics (including the one about a sea creature losing their mind on the internet) grabbed my interest from the start.
Black Belt Eagle Scout
Katherine Paul – singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist performing under the name Black Belt Eagle Scout – was a mix of dreamy seriousness at the front of the stage. Described as sounding like a cross of Mazzy Star and Nirvana, onstage the vulnerability throws punches through the distorted guitars and sweetly painful melodies.
M(h)aol
I know I’ve written a few words about M(h)aol (pronounced ‘male’) before, so allow me to just reinstate that! From songs about a dead dog (RIP), to my favourite song of theirs ‘Laundries’ – about the abusive history of Magdalene Laundries – to thundering bass and a song sung entirely in Irish, M(h)aol’s songs are accidentally-walking-into-a-door hard hits. Political and powerful, smiling activists, playing bassy songs that justify you wanting to scream (their drummer even tells us they are getting screaming lessons!). They remind us not to let the world drag you down while you’re fighting.
U.S Girls
U.S Girls are Meg Remy and her band. To be honest while watching I had to remind myself to pay attention to the band, as Meg really held my attention! Throwing shapes with instantly noticeable blue eyes (I think? The light was blue, so don’t hold me to it).
Having never heard them before, the set had an 80’s funk style, synth with a modern script:
“I sent you an image, you sent me a thumb down”
In conclusion: I liked it!
SNÕÕPER
Snooper! Whaaaaat the…
The crowd in the packed studio could be heard all over, questioning where the, uh, Dickens they get all that energy from. With songs ranging from 1-2 minutes, Snooper are jumping, blowing whistles, kicking, screaming, running, squatting, oh! And playing bass, guitars, drums (and whistle) for a 30 minute tight set.
Frontwoman Blair lifts inflatable weights whilst singing and screaming along to what was described as ‘putting the fun back in punk’, before joining a fan dressed in a giant yellow googly eyed costume for a riot in the crowd. A brilliant performance that left me smiling!
Sleater-Kinney
Where to start?! I will always feel overwhelmed just being in the photo pit at The Roundhouse, but for a band this long-running and iconic (I used to watch their youtube videos back on my old dial up internet) feels unreal. Amongst slightly ancient fans such as myself, I saw Joni from Fräulein right at the front and Stephanie and Estella of Big Joanie in the audience. It was a joy to hear the songs from many mixtapes live, and to hear new music from the upcoming album, ‘Little Rope’, too. Sleater-Kinney remain jagged and in control. It was personally a happy moment to see Carrie and Corin smiling at each other onstage, a wonderful kinship after nearly 30 years!
