LIVE REVIEW: Waxahatchee at the Sylvee
By Amany Khreis
A day ahead of her performance at Pitchfork Music Festival, Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee took the stage at The Sylvee to perform songs off her critically acclaimed record Saint Cloud. Ahead of the show, everyone in the audience was aware of what they were in for whether they were big fans of Waxahatchee or not. The pre-show playlist was strictly filled with country and bluegrass music, featuring songs by artists like Rosanne Cash and Lee Moses. By the time Crutchfield took the stage, the venue was full and the audience was alert.
Crutchfield opened the show with “Oxbow,” one of my personal favorite songs off Saint Cloud. Throughout her set, Katie Crutchfield delivered each note perfectly, backed by her incredible band. At one moment, she found herself playing with her capo in the wrong key and immediately corrected herself. She took this opportunity to make a small speech about Madison, “Madison has always been so good to me… love the state of Wisconsin.” Immediately after, she dedicated the next song, “The Eye,” to Giannis Antetokounmpo and predictably received a welcome reaction from the audience.
The standout performance of the night had to be “Lilacs,” the Waxahatchee song that received the ‘Best New Track’ label from Pitchfork. It was clear that the audience was familiar with the song as they say along and cheered.
For the most part, Waxahatchee stuck to songs off her fifth and most recognizable record. She did play a few songs off her past work, including “Sparks Fly” off her 2017 release Out in the Storm and “Noccalula” off her first record. Crutchfield also performed a few covers one of which was a song by one of her band members, the other being her cover of Dolly Parton’s “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” released as part of Saint Cloud +3. She closed the show with the beautiful cover of Dolly Parton’s song and dedicated it to the audience.
Katy Kirby opened up the show in support of the Saint Cloud Tour. Not only were Katy Kirby’s performances flawless, but their interactions with the audience were sure indicators that they are on to bigger things in the future. Among the atmospheric lighting, Kirby’s light and airy vocals, and lines like “We’re cut on the knuckles / But at least we’re open wide,” my favorite moment of the night had to be during “Portals,” when Kirby’s bass player pulled out a saw to play as an instrument. Kirby debuted a brand new, yet to be titled song and closed their show with a cover of an Alex G song (the song was “Bad Man,” if you were curious).
Waxahatchee put on a calm and cool show—one that was very much needed. It was the weekend of Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Summerfest had already started in Milwaukee, and Phoebe Bridgers was making her return to Madison. Having a relaxed Friday night at a country-folk show was perfect timing on Waxahatchee’s part.