Dry Cleaning Revisit First EPs at the El Rey

Dry Cleaning performing at the El Rey Theatre, LA by Jacob Alvarez

Reissued eps celebrated in Los Angeles with they hate change

The winds brought in members of the audience on a mildly cool day in LA to the El Rey Theatre for South London rockers Dry Cleaning. With their label 4AD reissuing the band’s first two EPs earlier this year, Dry Cleaning set out on a small tour of the US to play them in full. Originally released in 2019, the albums consist of six songs each, making up the majority of the group’s set.

Openers They Hate Change got experimental with the venue, leaping from side to side of the stage, demanding audience participation and receiving it with major enthusiasm. Shoegaze outfit Suzanne Kraft brought mellow vibes which acted as a great juxtaposition to They Hate Change, ultimately preparing the crowd for a mixture of both, being Dry Cleaning.

Dry Cleaning performing at the El Rey Theatre, LA by Jacob Alvarez

I looked on from the closest seat to the railing of the balcony as Dry Cleaning made their way to the stage, with singer Florence Shaw arriving last to much applause. The band immediately began opening track “Dog Proposal” off Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks, followed by one of the first songs I’d heard from them, “Viking Hair.” Six songs later and the first EP was finished and in came tunes from Sweet Princess EP. The lights set heavy on the band, with guitarist Tom Dowse motioning to the crowd for some energy, again given to him happily by the crowd. The hair of bassist Lewis Maynard rocked back and forth, hiding his face at times mimicking a full metal rocker. Nick Buxton shared a few smirks with Maynard throughout tracks as if they recalled the times of 2019 when the band was at it for only two years.

Dry Cleaning performing at the El Rey Theatre, LA by Jacob Alvarez

Shaw quipped with the audience, giving some insight to what certain songs were written about. As someone who takes words and inspiration from mundane objects and packaging, a track like “Phone Scam” was about “a girl who stole my phone, nothing more,” laughed Shaw. After the second EP’s final track “Conversation” ended, the band exited the stage with a 12 song set. Fans chanted for more and with only seconds into the break, Dry Cleaning arrived back on stage to play what felt like a handful of greatest hits. “Don’t Press Me” and “Gary Ashby” off Grammy winning second album Stumpwork rocked the first half while the band ended with New Long Leg cuts “Scratchcard Lanyard” and “Her Hippo.” There was nothing more to want.

As fans cleared out, I remained on the balcony with my partner as we suddenly saw members of the band making their way to our location. We played it cool (briefly) before Dowse realized who we were, seeing the figure packaging the band was nice enough to autograph on the table. Immediately we were introduced to everyone and had the greatest time, chatting about local hotspots the band was trying to fit into their travel itinerary to how appreciative everyone was of their custom figures I had made last year. In many instances, figures are delivered to artists with possibly an email suggesting they enjoyed them and that’s where it ends. No harm in that, but this evening countered that on many levels, just being able to joke with people I had never met before but have listened to for a few years now and admired.

Dry Cleaning performing at the El Rey Theatre, LA by Jacob Alvarez

The room felt like a group of old chums hashing out good times. Dowse and Maynard led us downstairs to their merch boxes which had been properly packed up. Dowse didn’t hesitate and grabbed a box cutter and we received numerous goodies from shirts to stickers and even a set of the EPs on vinyl! This isn’t something mandatory to do, and it goes without saying that there are far too many people in this world who do not behave this way. Dry Cleaning were so humble, gracious, and more importantly human. “Are you guys huggers?” questioned Shaw with a smile as we all shared a photo and a quick embrace. Check out the set list here!

PS: Check out our gallery of photos from the performance!

PS: Check out our gallery of photos from the performance!