At just 19 years old, Clementine Creevy has a recurring role in the series “Transparent,” modeled for Saint Laurent and single-handedly created her band Cherry Glazerr from her Los Angeles bedroom.
It hurts a little that she graduated from high school in 2015. After receiving critical success and signing to the label Secretly Canadian, the band has recently completed their second album “Apocalipstick,” which is out Jan. 20.
Influenced by the likes of Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna as well as punk rock trailblazer Patti Smith, Creevy has created a unique blend of post-punk and modern grunge. Her songs’ topics range from feminism to grilled cheese to dealing with anxiety as a young person in the modern world. The new album is even more complex, heavily guitar-based and unapologetically loud than the last. Her entirely philosophy is based around emotional and artistic freedom, especially for women.
Her only goal: to serve the music.
I was lucky enough to see Queen Clem and the other Glazerrs at PhilaMOCA this Tuesday for their “Pussy Bites Back Tour.” Local punk favorites Mannequin Pussy started out the night with a wild set filled with many head-banging punk rock tunes off their newest album “Romantic.” Then the Los Angeles foursome Slow Hollows took the stage with a beautifully raw performance that had the entire audience swaying along.
When 10 p.m. rolled around, Creevy came bounding on stage followed by multi-instrumentalist Sasami Ashworth. Also onstage was killer-drummer Tabor Allen and bassist Sean Redman.
They started out the night with banger “Sip o’ Poison” and then went into “Nuclear Bomb” off the newest album. The two husky tough guys in front of me were head banging and fist-pumping by the second song. Third into the setlist was their most famous single “Had Ten Dollaz” which had old and new fans alike excitedly singing along.
What I loved about the performance was Creevy’s way of bringing the entire audience into her world. She carried an air of acceptance with her and everyone felt it.
Being near the front, I watched her make eye-contact with each and every person she could see in the audience, especially the ladies. This was amplified when she sung “Told You I’d Be with the Guys”, which is equally a somber and hopeful account or her realization that she wants females to consolidate and support each other more than ever. The song documents her realization that she needed to stop being a “lone wolf.”
Throughout the night the darker material was easily balanced by the lighter songs including my personal favorite “Grilled Cheese.” Creevy had no problem getting wild and keeping the night light-hearted. She had developed a cold and synth keyboardist Sasami lovingly offered her sleeve up in which Clem blew her nose, causing the entire room to erupt in laughter. She is every bit funny, life-assuring and fiery as her music.
When Creevy introduced a new song called “Stupid Fish,” one of the guys in the front row chuckled and looked at his buddy to the right saying, “That’s you.” Creevy, obviously hearing this interaction, turned to the audience and recounted the story. She finished by looking at the two and saying, “That’s a beautiful friendship.”
As the night came to a close, the audience was not ready to see Cherry Glazerr go. The band finished with “Chewing Cud” and left everyone with ringing ears and a sense of fulfillment. Over at the merch table were pins and t-shirts with the logo “Pussy Bites Back” plastered on everything. I left with an “Apocalipstick” album and a renewed sense in rock ’n’ roll given to me by an awesome lady two years younger than I.