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Frankie and the Witch Fingers Tore Apart Charleston Pour House, Again (Photos + Review)

September 28, 2023 by Chris Huber and Clif RhodesLast Updated: March 23, 2024

Frankie and the Witch Fingers at Charleston Pour House. Photo by Clif Rhodes.

It’s not often that a band comes to Charleston and has the Pour House buzzing for months before the show even happens. Frankie and the Witch Fingers, who performed on Saturday, September 23rd, did just that.

This was the second time the Los Angeles-based psych rockers played at the Charleston Pour House, the first time being in October of last year. I didn’t make the 2022 show, but people were talking about it for weeks after, and when this show began to loom, the chatter started again.

And then, when they finally arrived, they proceeded to tear the place apart.

Fresh off the September 1st release of their first album in three years, Data Doom, Frankie and the Witch Fingers brought a renewed perspective and a bunch of new music to perform before a packed Saturday night crowd at the iconic venue.

Wine Lips out of Toronto kicked things off with a show of mullet-powered force. Then, it was time for the main event — Frankie and the Witch Fingers took the stage.

The Show

Opening with “Empire”, the track that leads-in Data Doom, it was clear they meant business. It was also clear that they always mean business, because they were one of the tightest, most well-practiced bands I’ve seen on that stage to date.

I guess you have to be well-practiced when your entire set is played at a blazing fast tempo and requires seamless interplay between all four musicians.

The first thing I noticed was the connection between the two guitarists, Dylan Sizemore and Josh Menashe, who have been in the band together since 2013. They lock eyes, barely nod, and GO.

Then, when it’s time for feedback, Menashe unslings his guitar and swings it with precision in front of his amp and the crowd, like you’d see Trey Anastasio or Nels Cline doing. The result is a melodic, sustained type of feedback, not overly abrasive but almost like a theremin.

It wasn’t just the guitarists who were impressive, either. Drummer Nick Aguilar, who just joined the band in early 2022, was locked-in with bassist Nicole “Nikki Pickle” Smith, who was perched just beside the drum kit, completely in step.

With the guitarists playing their parts together and the rhythm section doing the same, it’s almost as if Frankie and the Witch Fingers are two separate halves, interacting to create a wall of cohesive sound that makes people lose their collective shit.

In fact, the crowd in front was so wild for this show that the Pour House beefed up security in front of the stage, just in case. MoonKatDaddi was standing out there looking tough.

If you missed this show, I don’t know what to tell you. Next time you better get tickets early, because this band is going to be too big to play that room very soon.

The Photo Gallery

See a full photo gallery from Frankie and the Witch Fingers’ set at Charleston Pour House on September 23rd, 2023 below. All photos by Clif Rhodes (@clif.rhodes.photo).