Live Music Review: Dry Cleaning Sold-Out Mohawk last week

Dry Cleaning was back in Austin for a sold-out show in the Red River Cultural District at Mohawk on Friday, January 27. The South-London, post-punk band displayed a great deal of synchronal growth almost eight months to the day after a sold-out performance at Hotel Vegas, and three months post-release of their sophomore release, Stumpwork.

Fans packed the outdoor venue as the evening’s opening act, Nourished By Time, took stage.  The Baltimore artist established a chill vibe early on with a one-person, electronic – Neo Soul performance that charmed the excited crowd.

The sold-out congregation erupted when Dry Cleaning hit the stage, swiftly kicking off the much-anticipated performance with the second track from their late-October release, “Kwenchy Kups.”

The quartet continued with “Gary Ashby,” followed by the opening track from their debut album, New Long Leg, “Scratchcard Lanyard.”

Lead vocalist, Florence Shaw’s facial expressions, can best be described as befuddled amazement, reigned consistent and varied throughout the performance, and have become a signature staple of the artist’s live performance. 

Tom Dowse (guitar) and Lewis Maynard (bass) formulate rhythms that coexist with Shaw’s spoken-word vocal delivery with enticing juxtaposition, and Nick Buxton’s drums pace perfectly with carrying the rhythm of each song.

As the band effortlessly rolled through performances of “Viking Hair,” “Her Hippo,” “Hot Penny Day,” and ‘Leafy,”  Dry Cleaning continued with some of their new material rolling out, “Stumpwork,” and “No Decent Shoes For Rain” for the sold-out Mohawk audience.

About halfway through the set, the catchy opening basslines of “Conservative Hell” had heads nodding in throughout the throng of fans.

In the latter part of the set, the band hit those in attendance with an additional jolt of energy delivering the enchantingly-noisy introductory notes of “Unsmart Lady.” The show ended with a crowd-pleasing, extended, emotionally-driven performance of “Liberty Log.”

The group continue their tour in UK and Europe this Spring.

Dry Cleaning appears more comfortable, and their transitions smoother, than with their previous Austin performance.  The pacing of the set is also improved, increasing with intensity throughout.  Dry Cleaning’s sound is lustrous and fresh, eliciting an insatiable desire for more in their listening audience. Ultimately, Dry Cleaning has vastly improved upon their live performance, which was already stellar.  Expectations were exceeded at Mohawk last week. And that’s the way Austin fans like it. 

Dry Cleaning Mohawk setlist:
Kwenchy Kups
Gary Ashby
Scratchcard Lanyard
Viking Hair
Her Hippo
Hot Penny Day
Leafy
Stumpwork
No Decent Shoes For Rain
Don’t Press Me
Conservative Hell
Driver’s Story
Strong Feelings
Unsmart Lady
Magic of Meghan
Liberty Log

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