Katie Crutchfield has recently unleashed her third album under the Waxahatchee name. This UK tour sees her hit the road with a full band including her sister.
By the time Crutchfield and her band take the stage tonight, The Ruby Lounge is fit to burst. 'Under A Rock', taken from this year's 'Ivy Tripp', opens proceedings with its "maybe you got your head caught in a ditch last night" refrain. She showcases a swathe of songs from that, most recent, release tonight (nine, in fact). However, the epic twenty-one song setlist prevents this from becoming anything like a one-sided battle.
The likes of the fantastic 'Brother Bryan' highlight the slight changes which the 'Cerulean Salt' material has received since Waxahatchee hit the road to promote those particular songs. Apart from a handful of moments tonight, all songs now have the full-band backing and this results in a relatively new landscape for a number of the older cuts.
That's not to say there's never an opportunity to indulge in Crutchfield's more stripped-back offerings, as the band take a brief mid-set pause and give their leader the opportunity to indulge the fans with a dash of nostalgia.
By the time 'Peace and Quiet' makes an appearance towards the end of the set, the crowd is in fine voice and even a few rogue chatters can't contend with the sheer power of Crutchfield's spellbinding vocal. As the band retreat from the stage, Crutchfield returns alone for a four song encore. Both 'Chapel of Pines' and 'I Think I Love You', taken from her debut album 'American Weekend' make a much-anticipated appearance during this section of the show.
Katie Crutchfield's Waxahatchee is a concept quite unlike any other artist currently on the live circuit. If there was any criticism of tonight's performance, it would be that the one-size-fits-all full-band treatment diminishes some of the multifaceted glory of her studio output, but that's just nitpicking.
If you missed this run of shows, Waxahatchee has already announced her return with Kurt Vile and The Violaters in November.