Halfway through Friday night's set Katie Crutchfield (who is Waxahatchee) asked if we were crazy. "What are you doing here on a Friday night listening to me sing sad songs?" Well Katie I know your songs are sad, but also they are pretty great. And for me sad songs are the best. If written with a good melody they fill the soul and lift you up. And that's certainly what Katie did in Newtown on a cold Friday night.

Truly a solo show it was just Katie on electric guitar through out. Her songs are stark and painfully honest. Her voice carries strong and loud. There is emotional clarity in all her songs. She began with "Chapel of Pines" which is a song from her other project in Great Thunder. But the rest was purely Waxahatchee. Three albums to draw on and she touched on them all, with the older songs loaded more at the top of the show. It was an impressive night, with perhaps the only quibble that songs delivered starkly can sometimes show a vague sameness. But that was a minor quibble, for the honesty and truth shone through. Especially on the wonderful "La Loose", which is oddly more of a 'poppier' song but here was given a very stark rendition. The encore was great too with two powerhouse songs to finish in with "Catfish" and "Peace and Quiet". This was the first time for Katie in Australia, Let's hope she returns very soon.

Set List
Chapel of Pines
Grass Stain
Michel
Swan Dive
American Weekend
Brother Bryan
Tangled Envisioning
Under a Rock
Blue
Blue Pt II
La Loose
Bathtub
Summer of Love
Half Moon
Noccalula
I Think I Love You

Catfish
Peace and Quiet