Concert Review: Waxahatchee (The Orange Peel)

BY PIXIE HOCKER

Words cannot describe the ball of fire Waxahatchee brought to Asheville's The Orange Peel on Tuesday night. This was my second time seeing Waxahatchee so I knew to expect greatness and singer Katie Crutchfield was nothing less than a mystical experience.



Before Waxahatchee took the stage, the Melbourne band Good Morning did their job getting the crowd loosened up. It was my first time ever hearing their music and I have to say they very quickly gained a fan not only for their music but for their stage presence as well.

Ripping a 24-song set, most of them being from Tigers Blood, Waxahatchee also pulled out covers, songs from her duo Plains, and songs from her 2020 album St. Cloud, but more importantly she brought out some of her friends. The first being MJ Lenderman to sing the lead single of Tigers Blood, “Right Back To It” and “Burns Out at Midnight.”



As a huge fan of both MJ Lenderman and Waxahatchee, seeing that MJ Lenderman was featured on and worked on this album was very exciting for me. As this concert approached I told everyone I knew that I thought MJ Lenderman was coming to the Waxahatchee concert as a joke and seeing them bring out a second microphone a few songs into the show made everything real. The two of them have such great chemistry on this record and it was such a treat to be able to see that chemistry live.



To close out the show, MJ Lenderman rejoined her on stage along with Snail Mail (Lindsey Jordan), several members of the Asheville band Wednesday, and the opening band Good Morning. I believe the best concert experience for the fan stems from being able to tell that the artist is having fun and a smile never left Waxahatchee’s face. Ending this show on such a wholesome note was the cherry on top for a perfect performance.

PIXIE HOCKER
Pixie Hocker has loved music for as long as they can remember and has gone to more concerts than she can count. Pixie is the Music Director at her college station 90.5 WASU-FM and hosts a bi-weekly specialty show at Boone Area Community Radio.

Read Pixie's posts here.

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