Pitchfork

Man, not having electrical power is such a drag: no TV, no microwave, no live Sleater-Kinney...

Much to the dismay of fans, the band's sold-out August 1 show at Washington D.C.'s 9:30 Club was cancelled due to an electrical emergency. A transformer located outside the club overheated, and the fire marshal abruptly ordered the venue to shut down power. Apparently, excessive energy use in the D.C. area (read: thousands of insanely hot people cranking their air conditioners) caused this overheating.

According to Pitchfork reader Rob Runett, "Ten minutes before S-K was set to perform one of their last shows, a club employee appeared onstage to announce that the gig was cancelled. He mentioned through the rising din of sighs, grunts, and boos that a reschedule date would be announced soon."

Earlier on in the show, opening act the Rogers Sisters experienced difficulty with the "mind-warping temperatures and humidity": the drummer lost the use of her snare drum with only a few songs left in the band's set.

Luckily, S-K has set a make-up date for their performance. The show will go on tomorrow, August 3, at 9 pm (Eastern Time), with the entire concert being webcast live on NPR.org.

In the event of another emergency, perhaps the band will consider a candlelit, unplugged performance. Can't you just imagine a gentle acoustic rendering of "The Fox"?