Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy Pick the Right Haunted Venue for the S&M Tour
The Strand in Providence has a reputation for being haunted. Whether or not you believe that, booking Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy there on October 5th, three weeks before Halloween, felt pretty darn intentional.
The S&M Tour, as it was jokingly named, pairs two of indie rock’s most respected songwriters for a co-headline run that makes complete sense on paper and delivered on it in practice. Brennan Wedl opened the evening and felt like a third co-headliner, the Nashville singer-songwriter’s music sitting naturally alongside both headliners, with just enough of a southern warmth to it to give it a unique feel.
Snail Mail went on first for the Providence show. Lindsey Jordan opened with “Tractor Beam,” the opening track from Ricochet and the set leaned heavily on the album throughout. Her guitar playing was the throughline of the night. She and Sophie Allison are both artists where the instrument is as central to the performance as the voice, and having the two of them on the same bill emphasized their skill at both. The set built toward its second-to-last song, the title track “Ricochet.” Mid-set, Soccer Mommy came out to join her for a cover of Ride’s “Vapour Trail,” the British shoegaze classic sitting in an interesting space alongside the other material. It was darker and denser, and felt completely at home in a venue the locals will insist is full of ghosts.
Soccer Mommy closed the evening, and this was my first time catching Sophie Allison live despite having listened to her music for years. The set opened and then hit its first personal highlight early: “Abigail,” the second song of the night. Before playing it she made sure the audience knew that Abigail is named after her wife in Stardew Valley, which is very in character for who she is. Her guitar playing throughout was genuinely impressive. She plays with a kind of technical fluency that’s easy to take for granted unless you’re paying attention. “Rings of Saturn,” released just weeks prior, was a big hit with the crowd, and “Your Dog,” her breakout track from 2018’s Clean, came second to last and drew a big reaction as well. She closed by bringing out Snail Mail for a cover of Liz Phair’s “Fuck and Run.” It was low-key and loose. Just two friends having fun on stage and wrapping up a shared evening rather than trying to end on a big flashy note. It fit perfectly.
I caught Snail Mail at Big Night Live earlier this year on the Ricochet tour, and she was great there. The Strand felt like a more natural home for this music. It’s a bit smaller, older, and just feels haunted in a way Big Night Live up in Boston doesn’t. In October, with the lights low and the songs as heavy as they are, it felt exactly right.
The S&M Tour doesn’t have mosh pits or crowd surfers. It has two excellent guitarists who have been making some of the best indie rock of the last decade playing a room that might be haunted, in the best possible city for it.
SNAIL MAIL SETLIST:
Tractor Beam
Nowhere
Dead End
Heat Wave
Hell
Agony Freak
Reverie
My Maker
Vapour Trail (Ride cover, with Soccer Mommy)
Speaking Terms
Butterfly
Valentine
Ricochet
Pristine
SOCCER MOMMY SETLIST:
circle the drain
Abigail
Driver
Bones
Shotgun
Feel It All the Time
Cool
Rings of Saturn
M
Still Clean
royal screw up
Your Dog
Fuck and Run (Liz Phair cover, with Snail Mail)
