Watch Sleater-Kinney Give Their First Late-Night Performance Without Janet Weiss On Corden
Back in June, Sleater-Kinney played “Hurry On Home,” the first single from their just-announced St. Vincent-produced album The Center Won’t Hold, on The Tonight Show. As it turned out, this would be their final performance with longtime drummer Janet Weiss, who left the band a week and a half later. And last night, Sleater-Kinney played their first late-night performance without Weiss.
A lot has happened with Sleater-Kinney since that Tonight Show performance and since Weiss’ departure. They’ve put out The Center Won’t Hold, given a bunch of interviews, recruited touring drummer Angie Boylan from the band Freezing Cold, and played a lot of shows. (I can say from personal experience that they still kick ass live.) Last night, as musical guests on James Corden’s Late Late Show, the played the Center Won’t Hold track “Can I Go On” and gave most of the world its first look at the post-Weiss version of the band.
These days, Sleater-Kinney have a fairly glammy stage setup — backing musicians, fancy outfits, lots of things that light up. But the tense chemistry between Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker is still what it always was. “Can I Go On” is mostly a Carrie Brownstein song, but last night’s performance hit its peak on the bridge, when Corin Tucker delivered a few lines in a weird hiccup-grunt voice and then let loose with one of her inimitable howls, then paused to smile at the crowd’s reaction. Watch it all happen below.
The Center Won’t Hold is out now on Mom + Pop Records.