Priests celebrated new LP 'Nothing Feels Natural' @ Brooklyn Bazaar (pics & review)
Priests kicked off their tour in support of their debut album Nothing Feels Natural at Brooklyn Bazaar Saturday night (1/28). It was a record release show as well (the album came out the day before) and singer Katie Alice Greer told the crowd they were gonna play it in full, with a few older songs in between side A and B. It’s nearly impossible to catch a bad Priests set, and this one was no different. Album openers “Appropriate” and “JJ”, two of the poppiest songs off the LP, boosted the crowd’s spirits instantly, setting the mood for the whole set.
Priests have played NYC coinciding with big political events (last year they played at MHOW the night of Antonin Scalia’s death) and Saturday’s show came after whole day filled with anxiety over President Trump’s immigration ban, and this was a great release for those who needed solace during tough times. Right after playing side A of the album, Katie took time to talk about the then breaking news:
If you haven’t had the chance to check the news tonight, a federal judge put a freeze—a stay—so that the executive order to ban Muslims from our country would be frozen for today. It’s amazing. It’s not forever, but it’s a huge thing that happened. Donate to the ACLU. You can also donate to the Council On American Islamic Relations. They do fantastic work. Just please remember that resistance absolutely works.
The mid-section of the show featured older fan-favorites like “Doctor” off 2014’s Bodies and Control and Money and Power, making the crowd go nuts. By that second half of the set, she amped up her raw energy even more by climbing on the speakers, making it a highly entertaining set to watch. Katie really showed off her vocal range on Nothing Feels Natural’s title track which sounded absolutely gorgeous live, as does “Suck”, a softer poppy track that closed off the album and set.
Juicy II opened, along with Baltimore-based Sister Polygon labelmates Snail Mail. [Snail Mail were very good – Ed.] $1 for every ticket sold went to support DC-based LGBTQ homeless shelter Casa Ruby, which they also raised funds for at their anti-inauguration hometown show. Pictures from Priests’ set are in the gallery above.
—
photos by Amanda Hatfield
