Live: Speedy Ortiz at The Echoplex

East coast rockers Speedy Ortiz returned to Los Angeles this weekend to headline The Echoplex. The band is continuing support of their sophomore album Foil Deer, which catapulted the group to well-deserved critical acclaim. The album, written by frontwoman Sadie Dupuis, was built during a self-improvement kick. Rather than singing songs about others and giving them the satisfaction of art, the album is meant to encourage others to grow stronger. With a heavy hand in poetry giving the lyrics as much grit as their collective musicianship, the entire work comes in strong form from start to finish. The band jumped on stage at 11 o'clock after opening sets by Tancred and The Good Life. Having previous played in the smaller Echo venue upstairs, the artists were eager to have their turn at the larger stage below. Dupuis lead the charge center-stage, dressed up like a punk rock Virgin Mary with flowers on her crown, leopard print and blue lipstick. They took advantage of being in Los Angeles to invite friend Shamir to join them for a song towards the later half of the set before closing out the rest with a shot of whiskey.

Shot by Michael Livingston at The Echoplex, Los Angeles.