Last Thursday at ’16 Toneladas’ Chapel Hill’s indie rockers Superchunk stormed the stage and never let up. Before the very first chord, frontman Mac McCaughan casually welcomed the crowd. “Thank you so much for coming out tonight, we are so happy to be here. We have had great shows in Valencia and we are looking forward to this one.” By all accounts, they delivered on that sentiment.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of their release Foolish the band opened up with Why Do You Have to Put a Date on Everything. And proceeded to play half of the album including Saving My Ticket Kicked In Water Wings Driveway to Driveway and The First Part.
From the start, the infectious thrashing on stage fed the energy as the audience danced, bopped and bounced song after song through the ninety minute show. McCaughan relentlessly drove their songs hard and fast. He and guitarist Jim Wilber’s playing seamlessly blended with an aggressive, loud overdrive. Both harnessed volume and feedback for a great raw live sound. And the guitar solos had a nice melodic lushness.
Betsy Wright held down steady bass lines with stoicism while McCaughan was the center-stage focus. Drummer Laura King was hard-hitting, rapid-fire while crashing cymbals to back-beats synced with to power chords playing. She has both finesse and force. Together as the rhythm section, King and Wright were rock solid.
Dynamic songs like Driveway to Driveway and If You’re Not Dark held intense energy during the quieter or sparse moments adding to their overall sound. All in all, this was a night to remember for these fans.
Report by Phillip Solomonson
Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’
Photo copyright Phillip Solomonson / ’24/7 Valencia’
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