Throwing Muses at the Electric Ballroom

Throwing Muses

Lande Hekt

Electric Ballroom, 27 May 2025

It's been 11 years since I last saw Throwing Muses live and I thought that maybe I had simply missed them touring during those years, but no, aside from a few festival dates in 2019, this is indeed their first tour since I saw them briefly reunite with Tanya Donelly.

Funnily enough, Donelly's other band, Belly, have since reunited and are also playing the Electric Ballroom in October, so it's a good time to be fans of the Rhode Island stepsisters. Tonight though there is genuine excitement to hear the Muses play again and, given that it's a very different line-up this time (one time Muses bassist Fred Abong - who also happens to be Kristin Hersh's partner - is now on drums, Hersh's son Dylan is on bass and they are joined by cellist Pete Harvey), I think it's clear that a lot of this excitement is down to Kristin Hersh herself. 

Outside the venue I talk to a chap who first saw Throwing Muses in 1988 supporting The Pixies no less, and he tells me that Hersh is one of his biggest heroes. This feels so refreshing to hear. I remember Hersh saying once in an interview that there is an idea that women make music for women and that men make music for everyone. If anyone disproves this theory its Hersh, whose music is so interesting and diverse, and her guitar-playing so superb, there's no way anyone could dismiss her as simply "chick music" (not that there's anything wrong with that, but you know how dudes can be). Having this middle-age chap tell me how highly he holds Hersh truly makes me feel like I'm with my people.

Before Hersh though comes an artist who wasn't even born when the Muses first came on the scene (and was just a baby when I saw Throwing Muses live for the first time in the mid 90s), Lande Hekt. She's 32 but looks younger I think, and is pretty much a veteran of the English indie scene having formerly fronted Exeter punk band Muncie Girls and now has two solo albums under her belt.

She definitely looks cool, with a choppy bob haircut and a check suit, and she's backed by a band that included another girl, Elise, on bass (plus two dudes on guitar - Alex Hall - and drums -Noah Radley), which obviously immediately endears me. Her sound was punky, sometimes angular yet jangly and reminded me a little of Elastica, The Sundays and even Lush during their more poppy moments. 

She sang songs about climate change (80 Days Of Rain), her love for her cat (Lola) and even though she apologised that the songs were all morose (I'm pretty sure that's the word she used), it was actually a pretty feel-good upbeat set, with lots of smiles from Hekt and the audience too and her band were pretty kick-ass too. Definitely enjoyable, it will be interesting to see what she does next.

When the Muses finally take to the stage I had forgotten just how tiny Hersh is. It's crazy to think she's birthed not just a huge musical legacy but four sons, including the tall handsome mustachioed fella on bass next to her, who just happens to be her eldest, Dylan. 

She has dark hair again, and is wearing a lightweight summer dress and big boots, and looks so frail and petite it's hard to believe she can scream so loudly and make such big sounds come from her guitar. Without a word they launch into Theramini, from their excellent new album Moonlight Concessions and not surprisingly, given this tour is in support of the new record, they generously play all but one song from the album, and I must say it sounds great, particularly with the addition of the cello from Harvey, who also played on the record.

As they didn't tour the previous album, Sun Racket (I'm assuming due to the pandemic, as it came out in 2020), it's nice to hear quite a few tunes from that record too, particularly the meaty riff of Dark Blue and the Freddie Mercury-referencing electric lullaby Bywater. 

But I'm not too cool to admit I was most excited to hear some of the older tunes, going way back to 1987's The Fat Skier, when she introduced the brilliantly loopy Soap And Water as something "old and silly" (someone amusingly then shouted out "aren't we all, Kristin!").  

I was equally excited by the fevered intensity of Bea from Hunkpapa,  the shimmering uneasiness of Colder from House Tornado (this one was a particular treat I must say), the slowly building Limbo and the short but sweet, quirkness of  Him Dancing from The Real Ramona (this began a section in the middle of the set where she played acoustic guitar for many of the songs, even doing a guitar solo on her acoustic for one song, before returning to her electric for the remainder of the set).

Near the end of the set they played Counting Backwards, one of their most well known songs and definitely a crowd pleaser (I know I was singing along anyway) and I thought they might have ended the show on this as a lot of bands would, but instead we got a couple more tracks from Moonlight Concessions, including the title track, which actually is quite a cool way to end the main set bringing us full circle back to the whole reason we are here in the first place: to celebrate the new material of a legendary band still making exciting and brilliant music.

We did, however, get a couple of the "hits" for the encore though, with the punchy but twirly pop of Shark and the riff-tastic Bright Yellow Gun, leaving us all with big grins on our faces as the show ended.

Hersh certainly let the music do the talking, as she didn't say much during the show (other than make fun of Abong and his propensity towards the cowbell - making everyone squeal with delight when he did in fact use it on one of the songs), but with a packed 25 song set, it was certainly a rewarding night of Muses music.

It was great seeing Hersh's son on bass and he definitely did the songs justice and the cello was certainly a lovely touch. Abong is a good drummer and there's clear chemistry between him and Hersh for obvious reasons but I can't deny I missed seeing David Narcizo. He has a full time job now with his own graphic design agency and has chosen not to tour anymore, which is completely understandable, but he's one of the all-time great drummers (in my book anyway) and always a joy to witness live. I'm glad he's still recording with the Muses at the very least.

Hersh of course is as mesmerising as ever: intense and seemingly possessed sometimes, her tiny head bobbing and her eyes wide in an enthralled almost dead-eyed stare, she is a completely magnetic presence throughout and her guitar-playing is so interesting and unique, I truly believe she doesn't get the credit she deserves for it.

Tonight proves to me that Throwing Muses are still one of the most underrated bands of the 80s and 90s but its clear tonight that I'm not the only one who feels that way, and being among the equally devoted this evening was a joy once again.