From ’90s punk grrrl redo Sleater-Kinney to Wilco, Missoula’s Kettlehouse rocks on

With concerts back and summer in full bloom, Kettlehouse Amphitheatre housed two major shows last week, Shakey Graves on Tuesday and Wilco + Sleater-Kinney on Saturday.

The one-man-band that is Alejandro Rose-Garcia, also known as Shakey Graves, sold out the venue and delivered an energetic performance for audiences while on the Was Here tour.

The Austin-based folk singer proved his ability to entertain audiences with his unique combination of folk, pop and country sound. Highlights from the show include Graves dawning local PaddleHeads baseball team antlers as well as a cover of David Bowies’ Starman that received a standing ovation.

Sleater Kinney is one of the most prominent Indie rock bands of the early 2000s made up of Corie Tucker and Carrie Brownstein. Before Brownstein co-directed, wrote and starred in the Emmy-winning comedy series Portlandia, she was writing and creating Seattle grunge-style punk with Tucker out of Olympia, Washington.

Since then, the band has released seven studio albums and has grown to define the riot grrrl punk genre popular in the 1990s in the Pacific Northwest that combined feminist politics with punk rock. Sleater Kinney’s stage presence is virtually unmatched, at ages 49 and 47, Tucker and Brownstein are easily capable of getting crowds rowdy and headbanging.

Brownstein specifically emulated movements by the likes of Angus Young jumping and kicking her way through the set.

Wilco, who co-headlined with Sleater Kinney, is one of the largest names in alternative rock to come through Kettlehouse this year. The band is made up of lead singer and songwriter Jeff Tweedy, guitarist Nels Cline, bassist John Stirratt, keyboard player Mikael Jorgensen and drummer Glenn Kotche.

Multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone is no stranger to playing Missoula and has a vibrant fan base in the area. Wilco played a full set for the second show of their tour that covered a full range of their 11 album discography.