photo by @Mackerman
review by Steven Ashford
On Saturday, deep concern mixed with a mild panic as it was assumed that Omaha would be greeted with "the storm of its lifetime" at some point in the evening. Fortunately, the sequel to Night of the Twisters missed Omaha, and all we got was a big bath for a few hours in the middle of the afternoon.
After we were clear of catastrophe, I moseyed my way on down to the Slowdown at 9:30 to catch the sold-out Sleigh Bells show. That's usually the time I like to show up to concerts. It's an appropriate balance that says you're not the weirdo standing at the door for hours prior to opening so you can secure a front-row spot, but it also gives you plenty of time to not be late to the party.
What I forgot to consider was that the show started at 8 instead of the standard 9 p.m. launch time. Therefore, my arrival time caused me to miss both opening acts, Javelin and Elite Gymnastics.
Going to sold-out shows at the Slowdown is a bit of a rarity for me, so I was caught off-guard when I passed through the double-doors and met the jam-packed venue, loaded with a sea of teenagers and twenty-something's dressed to impress in their choice Urban Outfitters and American Apparel garments.
As I cleared the fashion show congregation at the top of the key, I caught my first glimpse of the stage, prepped for Sleigh Bells with their signature dual-sided Marshall stacks and a floor-to-ceiling, flag-like banner backdrop. The stacks reminded me of the stage setup of French DJ duo Justice and how ungodly loud and amazingly aggressive that show was, so I was hoping that this would at least resemble that energy.
photo by @calvinsmothers
As I planted myself in a spot near the back of the lower bowl that would suffice for the beginning of the show, anticipation for Sleigh Bells was getting increasingly thick. The final song over the P.A. system before the set started — Akinyele's raunchy old rap tune "Put it in Your Mouth" — went on and a pack of basketball jersey-wearing dude bros rapped the whole thing with precision. It gave me a good laugh and brought me back to my middle school days, if only for a moment.
By the time the lights finally dropped, there was a consistent roar throughout the venue as guitarist Derek Miller came out first to shred a few heavy-layered pseudo-metal guitar riffs. The crowd then broke into a full-blown rumpus roar as the voluptuously juicy lead singer Alexis Krauss took the stage, donning her signature studded jean jacket and pearly white Keds sneakers.
Krauss kicked things off by singing along to the first track and doing an Anthony Kiedis microphone stand drag across the stage before opting to take the portable, free-flowing route by detaching the mic from its stand.
photo by @Phunkywonder
The energy of the show stayed steady throughout the whole performance, but when hits like "Infinity Guitars" and "Tell 'Em" from their first EP Treats were played, the room seemed to erupt into full-bore raucousness.
The sound level exceeded my expectations, leaving me with a sensation of a full-body pummeling pulsation that sent vibrato shock-waves crawling up my spine. The overpowering music was almost a bit too much, though, as the vocals were drowned out by the loud guitar riffs and digitally enhanced drum beats.
The light show of the night was equally intense, with strobes flashing so hard that it would have been an epileptic nightmare that could send any old bag of bones into instant seizure mode without warning.
Krauss did her part to interact with the crowd by jumping onto the floor to sing along to the anxiously awaiting crooning patrons hoping to get a slice of that woman. I believe that I counted two separate stage dives as well, with the final plunge consisting of other crowd surfers riding the wave of hands in hopes of joining Krauss at the center.
photo by @calvinsmothers
The performance, with one encore, blazed through a fast and ferocious set that hardly exceeded the one-hour mark and before you knew it, it was 10:30 and the show was over. Probably just in time to catch the end of Jimmy Buffett's set at the C'Link Center, but that was a storm of Parrotheads I wasn't willing to brave.
SET LIST
Intro
Demons
Crown on the Ground
True Shred Guitar
Kids
End of the Line
Burn To Lose
Comeback Kid
Straight A's
Leader of the Pack
Tell 'Em
Treats
Infinity
Rill Rill
Encore:
Never Say Die
Riot Rhythm
AB Machines
Steven Ashford is a Hear Nebraska intern. He will never search for that lost shaker of salt, even if his flip-flop does blow out. Reach him at stevena@hearnebraska.org.