“It’s so great to do this and create a space for everyone in this room,” said El Kempner, the guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the indie band Palehound after finishing their song “The Clutch.” It was the first of the band’s recent two nights appearing at The Atlantis on a split bill with Ratboys.

As Kempner noted later in their set on Nov. 11, “everyone on this stage is queer or trans.” They said they will be undergoing gender-affirming surgery next week, mentioning the hoops trans people have to jump through to get care. “Those hoops are going to keep getting smaller and smaller,” they said, referring to the anti-trans positions and policies pushed by the incoming Trump administration.

Ratboys’ singer Julia Steiner also brought up the current situation when she introduced a song the band is road testing, called “Burn It Down.” It’s about “when institutions are so rotten and rancid, and you just need to start over.” She added, “the Democratic Party, what a fucking failure.” Palehound and Ratboys backed up their talk with action, taking donations for organizations promoting reproductive freedom and trans health care.

Palehound started their set with the humorous “Good Sex,” which got a good laugh out of the audience. They followed it with “Independence Day,” “Room,” and “Eye on The Bat.” After “The Cluth,” they did “Dry Food,” and then the rest of the band left stage as Kempner performed a couple songs solo. “This one is dedicated to anyone who had someone they love vote against their rights,” they said, introducing “Your Boyfriend’s Gun.”

Stream “Your Boyfriend’s Gun” by Palehound on YouTube:

After “Sneakers,” the band came back, and Kempner said, “All of three of them are wondering why we skipped a song on the setlist, and we’re going to do it now.” They played “Killer,” then rounded out the set with “Sea of Blood,” “My Evil,” and “Stick N Poke,” finishing with “Healthier Folk.”

Ratboys hit the stage 20 minutes and got it going “Space Blows,” followed by “No Way.” Julia dedicated “Elvis is In the Freezer” to “anyone who ever love and lost a four-legged friend.” (The story, I’ve heard her tell, is that her beloved cat, Elvis, died while she was away at college, and her mom put his body in the freezer so Julia could say goodbye when she was home.)

Stream “Space Blows” by Ratboys on YouTube:

In February, the band will be recording a new album. One of the songs that will appear on it is “The World Madly.”  After “Burn It Down,” the set continued with “Bad Reaction,” followed by “Making Noise for the Ones We Love,” “Morning Zoo,” and “It’s Alive!” After the title cut of their latest album, The Window, they finished up with “I Go Out At Night,” “Go Outside,” “penny,” and “Black Earth, WI.”

The evening started at 7:30 with an opening set by New York band youbet. (Their mention of their hometown had someone in the crowd shout, “aaaaaaaaaaay,” which was pretty funny.) Like Ratboys, they, too, will be recording early next year. “Jaw of Cain,” they shared, was named after the Instagram handle of Mary Timony’s drummer, and will likely be called something else. I didn’t know their work, but I did catch that they finished with “Polemita.” During their set, they mused on how the music scene would change in DC with the incoming administration, suggesting that the folks coming to work will be less inclined to support the arts. The truth is, the overwhelming majority of people working in government are career employees (and contractors), and the turnover is in the ranks of political appointees, which is a very small number of people.

youbet were a good stylistic match for Palehound and Ratboys. It was my first time seeing Palehound, and I was very impressed. They have great songs, and Kempner can really shred on the guitar; I can understand why Jason Isbell picked them to open for him. I’d only gotten to see Ratboys in an opening slot for the Decembrists, and they really shined given the time to do their thing.

Here are some photos of Palehound performing at The Atlantis on Nov. 11, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Sami Pye.

 

Here are some photos of Ratboys performing at The Atlantis on Nov. 11, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Sami Pye.