Le Tigre and Morgan Bassichis at Brooklyn Steel
On Thursday, July 27, 2023, Le Tigre began their sold out, three night stand at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, NY. These performances concluded their reunion tour and marked the first time the band performed in their hometown of New York City in 18 years. Prior to last night, the trio last performed at Webster Hall on Sunday, September 18th, 2005. Local performer (and now, actor on an HBO series), Murray Hill, introduced Le Tigre to the stage, conducting that task for the first time in twenty years.
For all three of their shows at Brooklyn Steel, a different opening act was chosen to warm up the stage. On Thursday night, Morgan Bassichis, a comedic performer, was selected by the band to start the show. Morgan began their set at 8PM by singing a funny song, and then spent the rest of their time telling jokes and interacting with audience members.
The trio consisting of Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman, and JD Samson took the stage at 9 and had a giant screen behind them on stage that projected song lyrics and visuals throughout their performance. Kicking off their set with one of my favorite songs, “The the Empty,” from their debut album, Le Tigre’s set included songs from their entire catalog, with many fans singing and dancing along throughout the night. Before performing “Hot Topic,” Kathleen spoke lovingly about Sinéad O’Connor (Shuhada' Sadaqat), an inspirational figure who passed away the day before and dedicated the song to her. For “Mediocrity Rules,” Johanna noted that the song was written when she was in her mid-20s and dedicated that song to those in the audience who were that age.
About mid-way in their set, Le Tigre took a break and the screen played a remix of their song, “Get Off the Internet,” from their From the Desk of Mr. Lady EP, while they were off stage. When Johanna, JD, and Kathleen returned to the stage, their costumes were now black and white outfits.
Murray Hill returned to the stage again to introduce the band again for the encore and declared that, “We are 1,800 people strong in this room tonight. No one, and I mean absolutely fucking no one can take our joy!” The two song encore of “Phanta,” and “Deceptacon,” were a fitting combination close the night, with the latter’s final lyric of “see you later,” while Kathleen jumped rope and all three members waving goodbye to the audience when the song ended.
I recently posted video of Le Tigre performing at Warsaw in Brooklyn, NY in 2002 here, and photos from their Irving Plaza performance in 2003 can be found here.
Le Tigre take the stage later tonight with Shamir, and of course, I’ll see them later.
(Update: Photos from the second and third nights are available here and here)
Le Tigre at Brooklyn Steel on Thursday, July 27, 2023 setlist:
The the Empty
TKO
FYR
What's Yr Take on Cassavetes
Hot Topic
Mediocrity Rules
Shred A
On the Verge
Seconds
Get Off the Internet
Yr Critique
On Guard
My My Metrocard
Viz
Keep on Livin'
Eau d'Bedroom Dancing
Encore
Phanta
Deceptacon