Rough Trade celebrated their Album of the Year lists, and their top album honoree, Dry Cleaning's New Long Leg (order on vinyl), with a show at The Rainbow Room on Thursday night (11/18). The very fancy space, which usually hosts cabaret acts like Michael Feinstein or Patti LuPone and not UK post-punk bands, is right around the corner from Rough Trade's new digs at Rockefeller Center -- up sixty-five or so floors -- festooned with chandeliers, and with stunning views of Manhattan from the crystal-decorated windows. You had to buy a Rough Trade exclusive 12” vinyl to attend, and after a DJ set from Bodega and an opening set from The Muckers, Dry Cleaning took the stage, vocalist Florence Shaw joking that they could've been given a nicer place to play.
Shaw's dry, sardonic delivery serves as a foil to the twin engines of guitarist Tom Dowse and bassist Lewis Maynard, attacking their instruments on either side of her. Bill pointed out last year that they and drummer Nick Buxton could be mistaken for a metal band, which is definitely still the case. They played most of New Long Leg, along with a couple of songs from their 2019 Sweet Princess EP, and left the crowd wanting more.