The badass riot grrrls that were Sleater-Kinney haven’t played together as a band in 7 years, but all three have remained heavily active in music. It seemed only fitting they would choose a concert headlined by their Pearl Jam friends, in their home of the Pacific Northwest, to finally reunite last week.
As Pearl Jam were closing their three-hour long arena set at Portland’s Moda Center last Friday, Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss took the stage to help them wrap with Neil Young’s “Rockin in the Free World.” Clearly time had failed to sever the friendship the bands had made in the ’90s, as the girls fought to make a name for themselves outside of Olympia, Wash., and the Seattle boys a foothold in the history of grunge music.
In fact, this was far from the first time the musicians had intermingled since those formative years – earlier this year, drummer Janet Weiss joined Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron and Death Grips drummer Zach Hill to create an album under the supergroup name Drumgasm. Guitarist Carrie Brownstein also teamed up with Pearl Jam and appeared in the 9-minute film Lightning Bolt, used as an introduction for the band’s new album of the same name.
Apart from teaming up with the Seattle grungers, Corin Tucker has been working on solo projects such as her group Corin Tucker Band, who released their second album last fall. Brownstein and Weiss have also worked together in the band Wild Flag, and Brownstein has established herself a comedic genius in the IFC sketch series Portlandia.
During their Young cover with Pearl Jam, however, which also featured R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and The Minus 5’s Scott McCaughey, it seemed Sleater-Kinney had never gone away. Watch below as all three ladies kill the performance with their own trademark moves, and steal the show from the headliners:
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