Sleater-Kinney Brings Riot Grrrl Anthems to The Wharf

Nearly every time Sleater-Kinney is brought up in conversation, “ICONS” is instinctively blurted. Maybe it’s that the legendary indie rock band, formed by college-aged Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein in 1994, stirs up our lingering late 90s angst. Maybe that their songs hit on feminist themes that still ring true today; topics that have continued to boil and bubble over the last 30 years.  Or the way the Sleater-Kinney discography has ebbed and flowed over the passage of time just as we all have, making their songs more relatable than ever. For these reasons and more, Sleater-Kinney’s influence on the Riot Grrrl subculture for over 30 years is truly iconic.

Before Sleater-Kinney took the stage at The Anthem in Washington, D.C on March 12, 2024, an opening set by Black Belt Eagle Scout lit a fire in the expansive room.  Katherine Paul, a rising force in the indie rock scene, delivered a performance that blended hypnotic dream pop and Indigenous influences. Paul's ethereal vocals and introspective songwriting drew the audience into an intimate dreamscape that can only be described as ”Electric Earth.” Black Belt Eagle Scout left a lasting impression, preparing the audience for the show to come.

Finally,  amidst a smoky haze, the triple-arched backdrop was filled with blood red. As the crowd cheered, Tucker and Brownstein slipped on their guitars and conjured the album’s lead-off track,  “Hell.” Following the tracklist of  their latest album, Little Rope (released in January 2024), they  barrelled into  “Needlessly Wild.” Just as the audience thought they might play Little Rope through, the indie greats took it back to “Get Up” from their 1999 album The Hot Rock”

The stage now oscillated between deep blue and crimson. The moody beginning evolved into a spectacle as the women (supported by drummer Angie Bowlan, multi-instrumentalist Katie Harkin, and keyboardist Toko Yasuda)electrified the stage with a performance that was nothing short of mesmerizing. Soon, the two ornate low hanging chandeliers glistened with alternating blinks. Brownstein, placidly heel-toed across the stage in business casual while Turner,  donning an elegant structured dress and mary jane pumps, echoed haunting vocals throughout the now legendary venue.

As the band tore through 20 songs, the lights crescendoed like waves crashing. The setlist was a storytelling tapestry; classics were threaded in and around fresh tracks.  Each song built upon the last, rage billowing like the teal-purple haze emanating from the stage.  White starbursts flared behind their silhouettes, and songs  like "Jumpers" and "Modern Girl" resonated with the crowd. Their cutting lyrics tackled themes of identity, empowerment, and grief. With their raw fearlessness, most prominently shown when Tucker climbed offstage and pushed into the crowd, the band reaffirmed their status as timeless icons.

Sleater-Kinney embodied the core values of the Riot Grrrl movement. “Girls to the front” could be found in nearly every traditionally male-dominated space. Women and female-identifying team members ran the show: selling merch, tuning guitars and trading them out, and directing stagehands. Five women boldly filled the stage, two leading the riot while the others gleamed on pedestals til the lights blacked out.

The three-song encore consisted of “Say It Like You Mean It,” “Dig Me Out,” and “Entertain” which served as a poignant reminder of the band's enduring relevance. As the final notes of "Entertain" echoed, it was clear that Sleater-Kinney's performance at The Anthem would be remembered as nothing short of legendary.

Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker represent all that the Riot Grrrl subculture stands for, namely solidarity in disrupting the status quo. Their music conveys what we all want to say: hear me and hear me loudly, because I’m not going away.