words and photos by Chris Dinan
There's an inherent darkness to the sounds Warpaint makes, but that doesn't come at the expense of fun. The Los Angeles rock quartet took the Waiting Room stage around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and the set was full of playful glances and light-hearted banter.
There were times when it seemed their drummer, Stella Mozgawa, was intentionally trying to speed up the tempos of songs into frantic unplayable crescendos, but everyone else kept right up with her. There's a playfulness to Warpaint, the kind that easily gets lost in recordings, but on stage, they were free to let loose and it made for a singular showing.
The band swayed and bounced through its catalogue, and the crowd obliged them with praise. Fan favorites, like "Undertow" and "Billie Holiday" garnered some of the loudest cheers, along with a well-received new song not included on 2013's self-titled album. Warpaint was at their best when the voices of its four women soared and swooped around each other while washing over the crowd with their brand of atmospheric shadow pop.
Local openers Digital Leather kicked off the show with a lengthy set of old favorites and new tracks. Going into the show, I wasn't sure how much the crossover there would be between the two bands, but the reception seemed very good, particularly during "Studs in Love." Digital Leather is a different sort of loud than what Warpaint offers, but their synth-punk anthems pulsed through the crowd and offered a great jumpstart for what was to come.
Digital Leather
Chris Dinan is a Hear Nebraska contributor. Reach him via HN's managing edtior at chancesp@hearnebraska.org.