Katie Crutchfield released her spectacular new Waxahatchee album Tigers Blood Friday, and she celebrated with an intimate album release show in Chicago, the home base of drummer Spencer Tweedy. Crutchfield and her band performed Friday night at the Empty Bottle, a club small enough that I’d feel real lucky to see a Waxahatchee show there in 2024.

At the beginning of the set, Crutchfield announced that they would play Tigers Blood in full, and that’s exactly what they did. According to setlist.fm, they encored with four more recent-vintage tunes: “Problem With It” by Plains, Crutchfield’s side project with Jess Williamson, followed by the Saint Cloud singles “Can’t Do Much,” “Lilacs,” and “Fire.” It doesn’t look like Tigers Blood guitarist and “Right Back To It” duet partner MJ Lenderman was present, but the band sounded great anyhow.

In footage captured at the show, Crutchfield told the crowd, “I’ve made a lot of different records that sound a lot of different ways, and I feel like I’m finally kind of hitting a stride where I really feel excited about what I’m making. I feel really proud of it. And you’ve all followed me, and I appreciate it. So thank you very much.” (The person who filmed that speech really has followed Crutchfield; their account also has footage of Waxahatchee playing the same venue nine years ago, during a very different era of the band.)

Below, watch the debut performances of “3 Sisters,” “Lone Star Lake,” and “Tigers Blood.”

https://twitter.com/noweakhugs/status/1771423603281514567