by Ziggy Merritt

This past Sunday marked both Worriers and Cayetana’s peformance at the cramped yet rustically charming venue, The Boot and Saddle. Joining them were Caves and the ill-publicized -something that’s becoming a theme- debut of opening act, Eight. My night was fueled by jitters, a small portion of booze, and the marvelous though expectedly fast-paced and wildly fun performances from all involved.

Eight debuted appropriately around 8:00, however there was little indication from staff or the somewhat snooty gatekeeper that their performance would start so suddenly, prompting me to scarf down whatever food I had left and rush into the performance space in the back. Thankfully I arrived to catch most of the short and sweet set, though I was disappointed that there were not more bodies in attendance at that point to hear the gorgeous vocals and fierce riot grrl chops that Eight debuted that night.

Caves followed with a vigorous whirlwind of pure adrenaline supplied by vocalists Minty and Lou, the latter of whom would go on to play with Worriers later that evening. Their electric presence onstage combined with killer bass lines supplied by Minty did well to make them a more than memorable takeaway of the night’s festivities.

It was then up to Cayetana to follow up this performance with their own fury and splendor, unleashing their own brand of spirited punk vocals and solid drumming upon the now well-attended venue. The setlist was burst of eight expertly transitioned grooves beginning with “Dirty Laundry” and finishing with “Hot Dad Calendar” on a definite high note.

Finally it was Worriers turn at the stage. Their set was as inspiring as everything that came before, capping off the night with a shower of intersectional feminism funneled into imaginative lyricism. During a brief interlude, lead singer, Lauren Denitizio took a moment to address the timely SCOTUS ruling that affected the status of same-sex marriage within the US while also remarking on the work to be done to affect more lasting change for all under the umbrella of LGBTQA. Even today it’s rare to see someone as vocal and honest regarding the state of queer and feminist culture around the globe.

Yet the audience who had absorbed that message were relatively subdued. I spied around to catch the reactions to each of these performances but was hard-pressed to find much more than a pacified headbobbing enthusiast and my all-time favorite, tall-dude-at-the-front-of-the-stage-with-his-arms-firmly-crossed. In a personal PSA, it’s important to not just passively accept the music you paid to see, but to give back the energy being thrown at you in some visible fashion.

That said, passivism did not do much to bring down the mood of the room. Worriers ended the night with a set including songs from their 2013 release, Cruel Optimist and an addition from their debut LP to be released on August 7th via Don Giovanni Records. It was a fun night, one I had been looking forward to for quite some time, and one that vehemently refused to allow me to be disappointed.