Ok so maybe I’m easy. Live music gets to me and it’s an automatic with me. Maybe it’s attributed to growing up with that front porch bluegrass after Sunday dinners. Everyone singing off-key, but instruments in tune. The love of that sound and passion of some song written who knows how long ago and really who knows what about, but seeing the Coathangers play Tuesday night is as close as it gets to an affirmation for me. If I could go back in time, not far!, but just a bit, I know now I would be a drummer in a girl rock/punk band. Shall I begin my live review??
Nosebleed Weekend Tour ended Tuesday night in Nashville at 12th and Porter for The Coathangers. I’d like to say it ended spectacularly. I’d be proud to say that but it ended as if it was really only the beginning, and beginning stunningly.
These hot and humid days in Nashville have me running for the bar and ordering something with lots of ice. So, with my drink in hand I make my way up the balcony to get my camera ready. Catching the The Night Beats was awesome. I was bummed LA Witch wasn’t on the bill for this show, but that feeling was gone as quick as it came because y’all, The Night Beats fucking killed it. Shredding those guitars, singing their big hit “No Cops” and even rocking a punk’d out version song from Bo Diddly. The Night Beats are out of Seattle, WA and they are still on the road with shows going through October. Members are D. Lee Blackwell, James Traeger and Jakob Bowden.
The Coathangers took the stage owning it with a sense of dominance. The electricity of Nashville was ever-present in the room as we waited patiently for the first notes to be belted out through the atmosphere. Beginning the night with “Nosebleed Weekend” the trio had me on the floor. The rawness of their live performance feels good against your skin and you want to throw yourself back at them. Julia Kugel is as dramatic on stage as she is cool and untouchable in a sense, you watch her in complete awe. Her voice transcends with the music and yet every time she sang the next song it was something new and completely different from the last. She is jagged but controlled in a sense of chaos that is among her. Meredith Franco plays the bass like it just happens, like she was born with a bass in her hand, so natural and uninhibited. 
The impetuous passion of Stephanie Luke on drums cannot simply be put into words. Her arms flying high and coming down with force so fully filled the room I felt as if she were beating me with her drumsticks. Every boom could be felt through the walls and the floor, pounding out this rhythm in my soul. Her shiny black hair swinging back and forth with the beat as if she were wholly connected to those drums. I lost my shit as she sang “Down, Down” as she slammed those drums, thinking… if this is it, I am ready.
That is it for this tour, but hopefully The Coathangers will be back with more and soon. Their latest album, Nosebleed Weekend is full of garage, post-punk grooves with grungy effects and sultry sounds that trickle into your ears and take over. “It’s an eclectic album inspired by life on the road, lost loved ones, and Kugel’s recent move to Southern California.” If they are ever even remotely close to Nashville again, I will be there in attendance, waiting for those drums to vibrate through me once more.
A big thank you to The Coathangers for putting on this awesome show and tour. If you haven’t grabbed a copy of their latest album, Nosebleed Weekend, do it. This is one album you won’t stop spinning. These Atlanta ladies are simply put, mind-blowing. Check out their website to order the album and keep up with all the latest info. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for even more…
For more about The Night Beats follow them on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and checkout their website for some cool videos and tour info…
Photo cred: Jess Sneed
