Concert Review: Haley and Black Widows at the Dakota Jazz Club

Black Widows at the Dakota Jazz Club, November 20, 2024. 

Haley, with Corinne at the Dakota Jazz Club, November 20, 2024.

My wife and I with Black Widows, what a fun evening!

Last week I saw Haley and Black Widows play at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. It was an awesome show, full of good, vibrant energy. Mayda also sat in with Black Widows on a couple of songs, and she rocks, she played blistering guitar solos that fit well with Black Widows’ sound.  

Black Widows played an instrumental set, showing off the prowess of Corinne Caouette on guitar, Pamela Laizure on bass, and Madalyn Rowell on drums. While I missed hearing Corinne and Pamela’s vocals, it was still a very fun set, showing off Black Widows’ fun mix of surf and punk. I don’t know all of the songs that they played, but they did “Dance with the Devil,” one of my favorites of their instrumental songs. Corinne showed off her mastery of guitar sounds and tones, shifting easily from surf rock reverb to punk rock distortion, ably assisted by her guitar pedals.  

Haley joined Black Widows for their last song, a version of Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me.” It was lovely, and I would love to hear Black Widows do a full vocal version of this early feminist anthem.  

Haley has a beautiful voice, and she played a largely solo set, accompanying herself on piano and electric guitar. Haley’s voice has a wonderfully clear tone, with a hint of country shadings to it. Haley was joined by Corinne for a couple of songs at the end of her set, and they sounded great together. I’ve known of Haley’s music for a long time, but I think this was the first time I’ve ever seen her live. From what Haley said, it sounds like this will be her last live show for a while, as she is putting more of her time and focus on a career in education. I’m very glad that I was able to see Haley live, better late than never! And it’s always a treat to see a concert in the intimate setting of the Dakota, with its fantastic acoustics.  

Haley started her set by reading a short story she had written. It was a fun and engaging way to start her set, and it really drew me in. She said she’s working on a book of her writings, which I would eagerly anticipate. One of my favorite songs that Haley sang was “Good Things,” a Sleater-Kinney song that is a lovely fit for Haley’s voice. “Good Things” was featured on Haley’s most recent album, 2023’s Hunca Munca.   

Haley’s encore was an improvised song, which I’ll call “Fuck Your Tesla,” after a line that was repeated several times during the song. It was an awesome song, full of the harsh energy and indignation that many of us are feeling right now. The song felt very cathartic, and the audience responded strongly to it. I’ll be fascinated to see what Haley’s next steps are going to be in the future. It was an excellent show, and I’m looking forward to seeing Black Widows again soon.  

At the merch table, my wife and I got our copy of Hunca Munca signed, and I got my Black Widows CD’s signed as well. And we discovered that Pamela worked at my wife’s birthday party two nights before! It’s always a delight to chat with such nice people.

Concert Review: The Surfrajettes and Black Widows at the Uptown VFW

Me and the Surfrajettes! From left to right: Nicole Damoff, Abby Jo, me, Annie Lillis, and Shermy Freeman, November 8, 2024.

The Surfrajettes on stage at the Uptown VFW, November 8, 2024. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

Black Widows on stage, November 8, 2024. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

On Friday night I saw two excellent bands, the Surfrajettes, and Black Widows, at the Uptown VFW in Minneapolis. The Surfrajettes are one of my favorite bands, I’ve seen them in concert twice before, once in October of 2023, and then again in March of 2024, both times at the Turf Club in Saint Paul. As always, the Surfrajettes put on a fantastic show of surf rock. For this leg of their fall tour, the Surfrajettes have a new face on bass: Abby Jo, filling in for Sarah Butler. The show on Friday was only Abby’s fourth concert with the Surfrajettes, but you wouldn’t have known it from the seamless way that her playing fit in with the group. Abby Jo has played with drummer Annie Lillis in several bands before, and perhaps this accounted for Annie’s especially exuberant drumming on Friday evening. As always, the guitar interplay between Shermy Freeman and Nicole Damoff was amazing. As I’ve written before, one of the highlights of seeing the Surfrajettes live is watching the seamless way that Shermy and Nicole trade off lead and rhythm guitar parts. They have a musical telepathy on stage that would be the envy of any group.  

The Surfrajettes played many songs from their new album Easy as Pie, which was just released at the beginning of October. I reviewed Easy as Pie here, and I’d highly recommend it, it’s a fantastic listen and a great example of the Surfrajettes’ sound. They also played a good sampling of songs from their first album, 2022’s Roller Fink, as well as some of my favorite Surfrajette tunes that have only appeared on singles and EP’s, like “Undercover Secretary,” “El Condor Pasa,” and “Banshee Bop.” The Surfrajettes have a knack for writing original songs that are catchy and tuneful, and they are also able to take other songs and successfully adapt them to the surf rock genre—some examples would be “She Loves You,” “Heart of Glass,” and the Spice Girls’ “Spice Up Your Life.”  

The Surfrajettes kept the energy level high, as they didn’t play many ballads, and sometimes there was hardly a break between songs as Annie counted off the next song just as the applause from the previous song was dying down. The crowd was really into it, and they gave the Surfrajettes lots of applause.  

Black Widows had the first set of the evening, and they got the crowd revved up with their music, a mix of surf rock, punk rock, and a little bit of country as well. The two groups worked well to have on the same bill, as their music complimented each other well, but their different styles meant that they didn’t sound too similar, either.  

Black Widows are a three-piece band, comprised of Corinne Caouette on guitar and vocals, Pamela Laizure on bass and vocals, and Madalyn Rowell on drums. Black Widows are from the Twin Cities, and they were with the Surfrajettes for just a few dates of this tour. They played a mixture of instrumental songs and vocals. One of my favorite songs was the bitingly satirical “Baby Boy,” about boys who are too obsessed with their toys, which is unfortunately all too applicable after last week’s election. Other highlights included the twangy country song “Mattie Mae,” and the rocking “Mummy Mama Boogie.” All three of the members of Black Widows are powerhouse players, and I was especially impressed with Corinne’s guitar playing. (She actually broke a guitar pick during the first song!)  

After the show, I made some new friends at the merch table and had some great conversations about the Surfrajettes and Black Widows. I got a signed photo of the Surfrajettes, met Abby Jo, chatted with Annie a bit, and had my photo taken with Nicole, the one member of the group I had neglected to get a photo with back in March. Once the lights went up at the VFW, I saw some fans were getting pictures with all four Surfrajettes, and I knew this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, to have a photo with the whole group taken in decent lighting. I also purchased the Black Widows CD Kandi Korn, and Corinne graciously threw in a second CD and a Black Widows Koozie. If you’re not from the Midwest, you might not realize the vital importance of Koozies in keeping your beer or pop cold. This was a true act of friendship from one Midwesterner to another, so I’m quite grateful for the Koozie. I foolishly neglected to get my Black Widows CDs signed, so I’ll have to make up for that the next time I see them.  

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the Surfrajettes continue coming through the Twin Cities every six months or so, and hopefully they’ll have Black Widows along again too.