When two heavyweights tour together they hope to pull from eachother’s fan bases. Hurray For The Riff Raff and Waxahatchee also had a strong theme to tie them together, it’s only natural their fans would cling to the other band as well. Both groups possessing strong, female frontwomen made this tour a no brainer.

As the tour drew to a close in Columbia, Missouri on a Wednesday night the two groups with songstress Bedouine in tow made their way into The Blue Note, a classic venue that fit the show perfectly. As the beginning of the set grew closer it became more apparent the crowd was a bit lackluster. The balcony would be closed and even at the show’s peak the floor in front of the stage would be easily navigated. It was a medium sized college town on a Wednesday so it was a bit of a tough sell. The good part is the performers looked very unaffected by it and still put on great shows.

Alynda Segarra of Hurray For The Riff Raff, Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee and Azniv Korkejian of Bedouine pay tribute to Big Star by performing “Thirteen” at The Blue Note in Columbia, Missouri on 4/25/18.

Bedouine is actually just Azniv Korkejian solo acoustic but her quiet singer/songwriter vibe was the perfect segue into the evening that was about to unfold. Her calm and soft vocals sounded haunting against the echoey theater walls as she plucked her acoustic guitar. He nimble voice navigated lyrically driven songs like “Skyline” and “One of These Days.” As a finale she took on the task of playing a song just for Columbia. It happened to be the 25th anniversary of Big Star’s “Live at Missouri University” live album so Bedouine announced a cover song originally by the band. She then invited Alynda Segarra from Hurray For The Riff Raff and Katie Crutchfield from Waxahatchee to join her for a performance of the gorgeously gentle “Thirteen” in which each singer took a verse. With the three on the stage, shoulder to shoulder with the stage backdrop reading “We’re All In This Together” behind them the show really instantly gelled.

Bedouine setlist from The Blue Note in Columbia, MO 4/25/18

• You Kill Me
• Back To You
• Nice and Quiet
• Skyline
• Solitary Daughter
• Dusty Eyes
• One of These Days
• Thirteen (Big Star Cover) with Katie Crutchfield and Alynda Segarra

The quiet hippie-folk of Bedouine would soon be extinguished by Waxahatchee. After the quiet opener of “Recite Remorse” they would pound into the radio worthy “Silver” and the evening would morph into a different animal. Crutchfield would sling out a subtle “Thank you very much, we’re Waxahatchee” right before the grinding guitars of “Silver” would kick in. Her band, that included her sister Allison on keys and guitar, was young and eager. They rocked hard but seemed like they hadn’t spent the stage time the two sisters had, concentrating on hitting all their spots as they locked in with eachother.

The bass led “8 Ball” would prove to be a highlight with it’s traveling thump and slacker rock delivery. They would jam hard on songs like “Never Been Wrong” and “The Dirt” but still left room for several laid back songs like the poetic “Sparks Fly” and “A Little More.” The band would leave the stage after an overall blistering 45 minutes to leave Katie Crutchfield along on stage to play a solo acoustic version of “La Loose.” The band would return to grind out “Under A Rock” before the group would call it a set and let the headliner set up.

Waxahatchee lead singer and guitarist Katie Crutchfield plays live at The Blue Note in Columbia, Missouri on 4/25/18.

Waxahatchee setlist from The Blue Note in Columbia, MO 4/25/18

• Recite Remorse
• Silver
• Poison
• 8 Ball
• The Dirt
• Sparks Fly
• Never Been Wrong
• Swan Dive
• A Little More
• Coast To Coast
• No Question
• Peace and Quiet
• La Loose (solo acoustic)
• Under A Rock

Hurray For The Riff Raff came out with a sudden intensity and focus Waxahatchee never possessed. The band were pros. They were locked in from the first note and effortlessly backed the outgoing and strong Alynda Segarra who stole the show. Her powerful vocals were instantly felt. Bedouine and Waxahatchee both have vocalists who use restraint, Hurray For The Riff Raff does not have that. With her eyes laced with gold glitter Segarra put everything into the set, taking a few songs to play guitar but really getting intense when handing the reins to the band and just singing and dancing showing her impressive prowess as a frontwoman.

Segarra’s secret weapon was lead guitarist Jordan Hyde, who was simply torching all evening. His restrained approach visually didn’t match his spot on licks for the songs. On tunes like the driving “Hungry Ghost” this shone through the most. The live version of this song was the studio version on steroids, not just the kind that make you strong but the kind that make you angry. The inspired version would easily steal the show as the best song of the evening. An intense reading of a new song “Kids Who’ll Die” had a punk edge with a strong political tone would be one of few songs to pepper the set not from the band’s brilliant 2017 album “The Navigator.”

Alynda Segarra of Hurray For The Riff Raff leads her band during her set at The Blue Note in Columbia, Missouri on 4/25/18.

On the jangly reading of “Living In The City” the song was transformed to sound like it was recorded for Bob Dylan’s album “Desire.” A few slower songs carried a heavy message with “Settle” “Life To Save” and “Nothing’s Gonna Change That Girl” highlighting a intense set. The main set closing “Pa’lante” would punctuate this point well. As to not end the night with a heavy message the band would return to perform a bouncy version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark” with a little help form Making Movies’ Enrique Chi on guitar and singing a verse. The line alone “You can’t start a fire without a spark” seemed to make the song fit right in. That line could have easily replaced the giant lettering “We’re All In This Together” behind the stage.

Hurray For The Riff Raff setlist from The Blue Note in Columbia, MO 4/25/18

• The Navigator
• Life To Save
• Nothing’s Gonna Change That Girl
• Hungry Ghost
• Rican Beach
• Kids Who’ll Die
• Lake of Fire
• Settle
• Living in the City
• Pa’lante
  encore break
• Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen cover) with Enrique Chi of Making Movies

Hurray For The Riff Raff perform on a rainy Wednesday night at The Blue Note in Columbia, Missouri on 4/25/18.