Tour Dates
6.21 Spokane, WA The Bartlett
6.22 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge 6.23 Seattle, WA The Tractor Tavern *w/ Kitten Forever Read More
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Kitten Forever
photo: Amy
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The Pack A.D. consists of two very different women: drummer Maya Miller is a ferocious percussionist with a wise-cracking personality, slinging funny anecdotes in between tunes and being something of the night’s emcee. Lead singer and guitarist Becky Black (nearly sporting a Canadian tuxedo) has a more reserved presence. She said very little that night, preferring to funnel her thoughts through a passionate wail or let her guitar do most of the talking. Black is also blessed with the patience of a saint considering how disrespectful some of the fans were at first. For example, there was a guy who kept sticking his phone in her face like a desperate suitor with a bouquet of dandelions. But Black kept her cool, moving around the stage and losing herself in the dirty blues-y notes chugged out of her guitar. It didn’t take long for audience and performer to sync up as the chemistry between Black and Miller make it impossible not to get sucked in the groove.
After opening with some bruisers like “Haunt You” from 2011’s Unpersons, Miller made introductions and mused that the last time the Pack A.D. were at the Turf Club (2 years ago!) there was snow on the ground. The band’s soaring new single “So What” lifted folks off the floor while the sledgehammer strut of “Animal” (from 2014’s Do Not Engage) encouraged the kind of convulsive dancing you might find at an exorcism. When Miller announced that it was “still technically Becky’s birthday,” and a fan from the back yelled, “F*ck yeah, Gemini!”
For the encore, Black graced the stage solo in front of an extremely supportive crowd (“You got this!”) and played my favorite Pack A.D. song “Needles” before Miller hopped back behind the kit. The two powered through a few more tracks including “8” (from Unpersons) which is a punk rock gemstone and dissolved all the bad feelings of the past week into a dazzling messy foam of noise.
The Pack A.D. is releasing their sixth full-length record Positive Thoughts on August 12th and just might save the world!
The Pack A.D. at Turf Club, St Paul (19 April 2016) photo: Amy
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