Speedy Ortiz @ The Echo, Los Angeles

Before the last song of Speedy Ortiz‘ set, lead singer/songwriter Sadie Dupuis noted “I think this is the best show we’ve had in Los Angeles. We routinely have had the worst show of every tour in LA.” It was a nice affirmation to hear considering I thought it was the best show I had ever seen Speedy Ortiz play.

For context, I have never seen Speedy Ortiz play in California before; my previous experiences with them have been once in Connecticut and once in their home state of Massachusetts. But there was something different about this Los Angeles show.

It could be because Twerp Verse might be their best record to date. The set at the Echo was packed with new songs and not just the singles “Lean In When I Suffer,” “Lucky 88” and “Villain.” When a random request from the crowd came in for album closer “You Hate the Title” and Sadie agreed to play it, drummer Mike Falcone said “wow, this is a special request.” A quick check on setlist.fm shows that the band has only played the song a handful of times live but they nailed it for the requestor.

Maybe my favorite moment of the show was before their last song when Dupuis told the crowd “We don’t do encores. It just seems like a waste of your time. You could be in bed.” For their last song, they played what they referred to as “the video game song” which is shorthand for “No Below” which was featured in Life is Strange.

True to her word, Speedy Ortiz did not come back for an encore but they did hang out at their merch table, encouraging people to donate spare change to the Islamic Relief Palestine. Their generosity, quirkiness, and general badassery makes Speedy Ortiz an easy band to root for.

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