Sleater-Kinney – The Belasco Theater – Los Angeles (A PopEntertainment.com Concert Review)

Sleater-Kinney – The Belasco Theater – Los Angeles, CA – March 29, 2024

Rounding out one of the last stops on their Little Rope tour, the prolific rock band Sleater-Kinney made sure to not hold anything back from the start – taking the stage in moody silhouettes, before the crowd full of adorning fans was cast in a sea of red lights to kick off the night with their recently released song, “Hell.”

Sleater-Kinney’s unique ability to pair chilling vocals with badass dual guitar riffs, while maintaining high energy with the crowd, shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. The band has nurtured a flourishing career that has spanned three decades and eleven studio albums thus far. While they have reinvented themselves constantly over the years, their grunge punk essence has endured throughout their work.

The group was founded in Olympia, Washington in 1994 by Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, as respite from the bands they were separately part of. They found inspiration within the popular Riot Grrrl movement in North America, and quickly solidified themselves as a key member of the indie rock scene – and one of the only groups from that time to still be cohesive. In its current form, the band is made up of the founding duo who cover both vocals and guitar, Angie Boylan on drums, Toko Yasuda on keys, and Teeny Liberson on guitar & keys.

Little Rope, their latest album released in January 2024, is a strong reflection of the band’s evolution while keeping intact their signature 90s feminist punk sound. Brownstein skillfully got the crowd bobbing their heads to her angsty intro in “Small Finds,” Tucker shined in her emotional depth during “Needlessly Wild,” and they rounded out the night by playing their catchy “Say It Like You Mean It” as one of the encore songs.

While their new material clearly resonated with fans, Sleater-Kinney also made sure to work in the amazing guitar riffs and brazen vocals featured in the hits from their extensive catalog, including “One More Hour,” “A New Wave,” and the enthusiastic melodica-forward “Modern Girl” – much to fans’ delight as they swayed back and forth, singing along.

There are still numerous opportunities to catch a live Sleater-Kinney performance this summer, as they tour Australia in May, are part of several festivals (Granfalloon Festival, Summerfest), and continue to tour US cities across July and August.

Larisa Jiao