Review: WBRU’s Winter Warmer for Girls Rock RI

Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel filled up almost instantly for WBRU’s Winter Warmer benefit for Girls Rock RI. The crowd eagerly awaited the music in the red glow of the venue until Joseph took the stage, and cheered as soon as the three sisters from Portland, Oregon began to play. All three on vocals, they started softly, and the room quieted. Their voices wove in and out of each other, creating beautiful harmonies over catchy drum beats and folksy guitar vibes. Joseph quickly gained momentum, and by the end of the first song, almost everyone in Lupo’s was dancing and cheering. Natalie Schepman, on guitar, shouted, “It’s gonna be a good night, I can tell!” and the audience applauded in agreement. With each track Joseph played, the band won over more and more of the audience. When they got to one of their hits, “SOS (Overboard),” the crowd went wild, and by Joseph’s last song, everyone was singing and clapping along. When K.Flay hit the stage next, her smooth, raspy voice instantly had everyone swooning. Her cool, unique vocals filled the venue as if they were from a different time. Each song ranged from heavy drum beats and slashing guitar sounds to catchy basslines and synths. K.Flay completely owned the stage, headbanging and killing it on guitar to the hard rock portions of her music, and dancing and spinning around the stage as her sound seamlessly transitioned into electronic drops. She easily slipped in and out of genres, going to the edge of the stage to rap over the crowd, and delving into more soulful sounds as she crooned the softer sections of “Can’t Sleep.” K.Flay ended her set with her hit “Blood in the Cut,” and the crowd went crazy; fans excitedly tapped their friends when it started, and enthusiastically sang along to the whole song. In transition, the stage filled with smoke, enveloping Lupo’s in a smoggy haze. Blue stage lights flooded the venue, and hotly anticipated headliner Warpaint emerged from the cloud, greeted by wild cheers. The quartet kicked off their set with “Bees,” their echoing vocals floating over warped guitar riffs, and swiftly transitioned from song to song, each one met with well-deserved applause. Each track had a different tempo from the one before it; Warpaint got the crowd dancing, then swaying, and then right back to bouncing along to their smooth, catchy beats. Spontaneous flashes of warm yellow light cut through the smoke, turning the band into surreal, swaying silhouettes. When Warpaint launched into fan favorite “Undertow,” the whole place went crazy with cheers and whistles. The band’s dreamy vocals swirled through the crowd as low bass and clean guitar sounds flowed through the venue. Next, Warpaint played two songs from their new album Heads Up: first “The Stall” with its groovy bass line, and then “So Good,” on which bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg and guitarist Theresa Wayman switched instruments. Vocalist and guitarist Emily Kokal asked the crowd “How are you guys?!” and everyone’s hands shot up as they cheered in enthusiasm. The crowd sang along on “New Song,” a big hit off of Heads Up, and then Warpaint closed the show on the catchy track “Disco//Very,” cooing, “Don’t you battle, we’ll kill you, we’ll rip you up and tear you in two!” The perfect feminist anthem to end the night.