Live review: American rockers Sleater Kinney deliver at sold out show at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Just a month after hosting Hollywood star and Leeds United shareholder Russell Crowe, the revered Hyde Park venue had another major coup lined up to play the hallowed, 400-capacity main room - though of a distinctly different ilk.
A second date was added after the announcement that influential feminist punk rockers Sleater Kinney would play the venue and both sold out immediately amid the furore that such a revered act would swing by.
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And it was on that second night that we got to witness the duo of Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker tear through a frenetic 22-song set that was equal parts indignant and ecstatic.
The group was central to the Riot grrl movement that blossomed in the 1990s and has sustained an integral influence on countless other acts (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, St Vincent, Big Joanie) further expanding its fearless brashness with age and wisdom.
New songs from their grief-stricken 11th album ‘Little Rope’ fit in effortlessly among a set that pulled from across their career; with Tucker’s frantic wails (which in the live setting are understandably reined in) and Brownstein’s jovial, punctuating guitar riffs being a feature throughout their output.


Brownstein also proves a fantastic MC amid the mostly coarse ttunes; managing to bring a somewhat muted crowd along for the ride with sardonic quips and tales. An early technical difficulty becomes a mood settler as a minute of silence is followed by her joking: “This feels like most British conversations.”
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Hide AdShe’s also a galvanizing force while performing, with facial expressions divvying from Cheshire Cat grin to devious sneer and guitar hero moves that look perfected in front of a bedroom mirror. The sound of the duo’s refreshingly raw riffing on the likes of ‘The Fox’ and ‘One Beat’ is also a jolt to the system.
Former drummer Janet Weiss’s jabbing fills that made her so integral to the band’s unfettered potency are delivered with aplomb by Angie Boylan and additional members Toko Yasuda and Teeny Lieberson also give the famously stripped back tunes an newfound depth.
The show reaches its peak during the one-two punch of the frenzied ‘Dig Me Out’ followed instantly by ‘Modern Girl’, which sees Brownstein leave the crowd to sing the helplessly catchy: “My whole life, was like a picture of a sunny day.”
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Hide AdThe encore features a reworked version of ‘Dance Song ‘97’ in the style of Low, who covered the song for a special 25th anniversary edition of their landmark album ‘Dig Me Out’. It’s a particularly moving moment, with Brownstein dedicating it to Low member Mimi Parker, who died in 2022, and saying that the tragedy ensured their brilliant version “took on a whole different meaning”.
‘Say It Like You Mean It’ from their latest album is as groovy as a garage band could like sound and ‘Turn It On’, with its tenacious, lung busting finale, proves the perfect, cathartic release for this most impassioned of acts.
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