Live Shows: Priests and Gurr, The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA 4/18/19

Priests
Photo by Ken Sears

For those of us that attended the Priests show at The Sinclair last Thursday, we were treated to two fantastic sets from two great bands. Both sets were surprising: One was far more energetic than expected, and the other was much more laid back.

Gurr, based in Germany but their drummer is from Boston, played first. I had never heard of them until it was announced they were opening the show, and I spent a little bit of time with their music before the show. It was good, but nothing that really stood out for me. Their albums are mostly laid back alternative pop. Just a chilled out vibe even on their

Gurr
Photo by Ken Sears

more energetic songs. Live they have a completely different vibe, coming across like Sleater-Kinney being joined by Kathleen Hanna from the "Bull in the Heather" video trying to secretly form Le Tigre. They apologized a ton for laughing too much in songs, and seemed to feel like they were putting on a bad show, but for the audience it added to the fun. Songs like "Middleton Mall" and "Don't Go to School" are much more fun and joyful when performed live.

Gurr
Photo by Ken Sears

I expected Priests to be much more energetic live, based on their previous album and some live performances I had seen on YouTube. But much like their just released album The Seduction of Kansas, Thursday night's show was more laid back than I had expected. I should say it started out much more laid back. Their entire set slowly built and built in intensity. The opening song, "Texas Instruments," was even more laid back than the album version. That started off a slow, almost imperceptible build through "Jj" and "Jesus's Son" which closed out the show with an intensity not matched by anything that came earlier. Singer Katie Alice Greer is by far the focus of the entire show, and with good reason. She commands the entire stage, and her voice is a rarity of the indie rock/punk leaning world in that she could quite easily sing at a more mainstream level if she chose to. Drummer Daniele Daniele came from behind her drum kit for a handful of songs, somehow matching Greer with singing and stage presence. The secret weapon of a Priests live show is guitarist G.L. Jaguar. His playing is beyond intense, even on the most laid back of their songs.

Priests
Photo by Ken Sears

Possibly the only complaint I could have with the show was how short it was. Priests played for forty five minutes, which seems very short for a headliner with three albums behind them. Perhaps there was some unknown issue, or maybe just how Priests roll. Either way, they packed in enough in their shorter set time to leave everyone happy but still hoping for more, which is how a good show should be done.

If you're looking for more pictures from the show, check out our Facebook page for the album. This is something we should be doing more of in the future.