A trio of powerful indie performers took to the stage Saturday night at The Regent in DTLA, each showcasing their skills.
Headliner Girlpool brought a DIY garage rock sound. Aussie singer-songwriter Hatchie came with saccharine melodies behind melancholy lyrics. And LA-based Kitten brought the kind of high-octane indie pop reminiscent of the late ’80s.
Kitten opened things up, and this is a band I never get tired of seeing. Frontwoman Chloe Chaidez is one of the best performers I’ve ever seen. I feel like I burn calories just watching her dart across the stage. The band came out mostly in matching blue makeup, Chaidez’s covering the top half of her face completely. They kicked things off with their beloved single from last year “I Did It!” followed by my personal favorite “Strange Embrace”. That song has the kind of guitar riffs and build that I always say would have fit a Rocky IV montage.
Up next was rising Aussie favorite Hatchie. The dreampop artist will be releasing her long-awaited debut album Keepsake on June 21. Hatchie aka Harriette Pilbeam has done a tremendous job of crafting catchy indie pop songs with dark undertones. Think Sixpence None the Richer meets Third Eye Blind. She kicked things off with “Sugar & Spice”, the title track from her EP. In between delivering these hook-filled tunes, Hatchie gave some awkwardly fun banter.
She closed her set with “Sure”, the song that came into my ears via a Spotify Discover Weekly playlist many months ago. The “do you even think about me?” repeat in the chorus is a total earworm. It’s such a great song that Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie has remixed it.
Girlpool closed things out and it’s been cool to see how much they’ve grown since I saw them at The Echo many years ago. Their new album What Chaos is Imaginary came out in February to critical acclaim, for good reason.
The performance, however, was a little sloppy in comparison to how they sound on record. The vocals were a bit off, but they brought great energy to the show. This was probably their biggest headline show in their Los Angeles hometown and the crowd was super into it. My favorite song from the record “Pretty”, was also the standout of the show. Harmony Tividad’s vocals on that track give my goosebumps and I love the prevailing guitar riff from Cleo Tucker.
To me, Hatchie and Kitten sort of stole the show from the night’s headliner. But overall it was still a fun Saturday night out and a great triple bill of performers.
