Tour Diary: “Let’s Listen to Shellshag And Drive To Fucking Western Mass”

 

This is the third installment of our tour diary with Waxahatchee, a/k/a Philly-based songwriter Katie Crutchfield, formerly of PS Eliot. Last week we followed Crutchfield and Don Giovanni Records co-founder Joe Steinhardt around New England for a string of shows, taking notes and photos and videos and audio recordings along the way. The first installment covered our adventures in Burlington, Vermont. The second installment included some live recordings from a basement show in New Hampshire. Here's some notes on Boston and Easthampton. 

 

Waxahatchee @ Charlie's Kitchen

Boston was a sort of a nightmare. Katie’s old manager had originally booked her a show at All Asia café in Cambridge which was pretty weird. Then a few weeks ago Katie and Joe realized that All Asia is the worst so instead we organized a last-minute show at my apartment in Allston, Dreamhaus (which I have written about for this blog in the past).

Last Monday morning, en route from Newmarket, NH to Boston, we stopped in Portsmouth for lunch at the Friendly Toast. (They also have a Cambridge location.) That place was cool and there were totally solid vegan options. Halfway through lunch, my roommate Noah called frantically explaining that our house had been robbed that morning. Someone broke in through the front window and stole laptops, desktop computers, cameras, and more. (More here/here.) Naturally we decided to move the show. I felt dizzy for the rest of the day answering texts from concerned friends/roommates while simultaneously scrambling to find an alternate location.

Later, after 5pm, we still had no alternate show sorted. We sat in chairs in my living room, where the show would have been, glued to our phones calling anyone with a basement or bar that might be available. Eventually with help from WHRB, Joe’s friend Bryan, and Ryan Agate (thanx y’all) we headed to Harvard Square for a last-minute Waxahatchee session with Record Hospital at 9pm and Waxahatchee/Modern Hut sets added to a pre-existing show that night at Charlie’s Kitchen.




Video: Waxahatchee "Waiting" live @ WHRB

Despite some rando hecklers and tons of confusion, the show at Charlie’s was actually very fun. Katie offered to take some requests to make up for all the moving around/cancellations/etc. At least one person requested an Ackleys song and a PS Eliot song but she ultimately stuck to Waxahatchee songs, which was totally okay by me. The songs from American Weekend and Cerulean Salt are beautiful and I never get sick of hearing them.



Video: Waxahatchee "Bathtub" live @ Charlie's Kitchen

Tuesday we got a late start, ate lunch at Grasshopper, and drove to Western Mass. Something fun about driving around with Joe Steinhardt is even with an entire iPod full of music to choose from, chances are he’ll always be down to listen to bands on his label, not in an annoying self-promoting way but in the most whole-hearted genuine sense of always being 110% psyched on his friends’ newest recordings. “Let’s just listen to Shellshag and drive to fucking Western Mass,” he said as we drove away from Boston.



On the 2-hour drive we listened to a little bit of Robyn (Joe and Katie both share my luv for her which rules) and Leda (Amy Klein from Hilly Eye’s other band). But mostly we just listened to Shellshag’s new forthcoming record, which after a few listens I am convinced is their best yet. We also listened to the the demo version of the new Shellshag record and then a live version of the new Shellshag record. I don’t know if there is any band in the world Joe Steinhardt is more enthusiastic about than Shellshag, which says a lot given the context of his label’s roster. I first caught Shellshag playing a late-night set closing out the Don Giovanni annual showcase at Bowery Ballroom in 2010, where strangers introduced them to me as punk legends. I am excited for the world to hear rhe lead track off their new record, "Face to Face", a seriously heartwarming distillation of all the reasons I love this band.



Flyer for Easthampton show



Potty Mouth @ Flywheel



Joe a/k/a/ Modern Hut @ Flywheel

The show in Northampton was excellent. The venue ruled (Flywheel) and the opening bands ruled (Banditas, Potty Mouth). The only bummer was that we arrived too late to catch Meghan Minoir and Will Dandy’s new band, Longings. But we got to hear about it later when we stayed at their home (thanx y’all!) a beautiful house surrounded by snow-covered trees in the middle of the woods a short drive outside Northampton. This is also the location of Will’s popular recording studio, Dead Air. Fun Fact: the first-ever Don Giovanni release was recorded at Dead Air with Will, the first 7-inch by Joe’s old band Talk Hard.



On Wednesday we spent the whole afternoon eating burritos and drinking coffee in Amherst with California X (when in Amherst visit Amherst Coffee) before taking off for New Haven, CT and then New Jersey and New York. More on all of that very soon.