Slaughter Beach, Dog concluded their tour at the 9:30 Club with an intimate show, delivering a restless comfortability only a band with experience traversing so many different genres could pull off. Their artistic diversity was reflected in the Monday night crowd: a mix of high schoolers in beat up converse, flannel-wearing men with IPAs in hand, and a fair helping of GW students, many of whom had seen the band on their last tour in D.C.
Rich Ruth, a Nashville native multi-instrumentalist, took the stage before Slaughter Beach, Dog. Accompanied by saxophonist Sam Que, Ruth’s lush, spiritual “space jazz” was a stark contrast to the headliner’s previous openers, mainly folk musicians. Entering the 9:30 Club to the sound of a pulsing synthesizer mixing with a crooning sax was unexpected, like being abducted off the D.C. street into a drug-fueled but remarkably ambient safari in the cosmos. Loud and transient, most of the crowd received Ruth’s short set with a kind of awed yet groovy reverence.
As Jake Ewald took to the stage, lanky and sporting a Holden Caulfield-esque hat, the crowd buzzed with mellow excitement. What came next, nearly as unexpected as the space jazz, was an uncharacteristically sensual performance of the song “Evil.” The blues-y feel of the track captured the Americana sound the band has been moving towards in recent shows and releases. The performance was captivating, albeit lacking the awkward kind of charm one might expect.
Slaughter Beach, Dog proved continuously throughout the show that they are a truly wonderful band to hear live. Nearly every song featured an extended instrumental outro, with Ewald and his bass player trading riffs and banter that injected new life and energy into their older tracks. Evidently comfortable after weeks on the road, the show felt like one long inside joke. The energy in the room was warm, very few phones were in the air, and many fans joined Ewald in singing every word.
A spectacular, inventive musical performance is customary of a Slaughter Beach, Dog show, but this was a markedly strange evening for the band. Typically chatty and engaging, Ewald was relatively quiet. He added extended spoken outros to a few songs, delivering an impassioned yet off-putting monologue at the end of “Engine” telling listeners to “Get alone. And get real quiet.” He also suggested that they “get real fuckin’ high!”
Hits like “Acolyte” and “Your Cat” that fans expected to hear were omitted from the setlist, and Ewald played “104 Degrees,” a typical encore song, very early in the evening. Whether due to end-of-tour boredom or a more serious behind-the-scenes disturbance, viewers picked up on the off-putting energy from the band.
The set concluded with an extended version of their fourth album’s titular track, “At the Moonbase,” towards the end of which Ewald dropped to his knees in front of his microphone and began rocking back and forth. He remained there for a nearly three minute long instrumental outro, losing his cap and revealing a disheveled mop of hair. Eventually, he took a seat on an amp for a sip of water, marveling as his band continued playing around him. Concluding with a frazzled, ceremonious flair, the band left the stage to the blaring sound of feedback from a stickered guitar left leaning on an amp.
After a 9:30 employee hurriedly snuck out to shut the amp, Ewald returned to the stage, seemingly recovered from his previous episode. He delivered a distorted, electric solo rendition of “Map of the Stars,” the only encore song for the show.
For a genre-bending project created to save Ewald from writer’s block, Slaughter Beach, Dog proved with this performance that there is no lack of creative energy or signs of stagnation in their future. Early in the show, Ewald introduced a series of tracks as songs from “Jeff’s basement,” heralding an era of post-grad recklessness. Now he’s married and raising a two-year old son, but the band’s evolution continues.
As quickly as Ewald transitioned from emo to the kitschy indie rock sounds of Slaughter Beach, Dog’s earlier releases, he seems to be moving once again. Between their guitar-heavy twang and an uncanny ability to tell perfectly nostalgic stories, the band is leaning into their folk influences. This tour concluded in D.C. with a clear message: Slaughter Beach, Dog is growing up, perhaps faster than they know what to do with.
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