Slide, The Place Lives, and Lady Heroine @ Ortlieb’s

Lady Heroine, The Place Lives, and Slide all took to the stage at Ortlieb’s on October 4, 2026. Slide started off the show around 7:30 p.m., kicking it off with the noisiest sounds the audience would hear all night. 

In terms of stage presence, the band could fit the shoegaze cliché of introverted, pedal-gazing guitarists. At some points, they could be seen facing away or closing their eyes. They did not say much, either, apart from expressing their thanks to the crowd. 

One crowd member came up close to the stage to give the band the “rock on” hand gesture. A band member let out a smile and gave the gesture back in return. Embracing the heavier, more abrasive side of shoegaze, the band enveloped the audience in massive walls of sound, distorted guitars and echoing vocals. 

The Place Lives followed, delivering a similar dreamy effect but with a softer tone. Their sound was full of spaced out reverb, fuzzy guitars and ambient atmospheres. Vocalist, Evan Cook,  sang close and softly into the mic, at some points stepping back to let out angstier vocals before returning to delicate ones. His vocals were airy but slightly more polished, with drummer Evan Lynch joining Cook on backing vocals for some tracks. The audience could be seen closing their eyes, nodding their heads, and swaying to the Philly-based shoegaze sets.

Cook expressed gratitude towards the audience for coming out on a Sunday, encouraged people to stick around for Lady Heroine’s set, and gave Slide a shout out, referring to them as “homies”.

Lady Heroine went on last, contrasting the prior acts in terms of stage presence but as well as sound. The band seemed loose and at ease, sharing laughs and dancing along to the music. The lead vocalist, Kaitlyn Franciso, even removed her Dr. Martens boots just prior to performing, leaving her in her socks throughout the set. They started off with a lively  “How’s everyone doing?” and introduced themselves as a band from Florida. 

The band supplied dynamic, heavy-groove indie rock with adventurous electric guitar solos that left the guitarist looking like he was getting aroused by the shreds. At one point, Franciso thanked the audience for bearing with them because guitarist and backing vocalist, Felix Gallardo, had broken a string, likely from the intense shreds. 

The band made an effort to talk to the audience, reminded them of song names, and teased an upcoming music video. The crowd for the show was fairly quaint, rounding out to about 20 people in attendance. Franciso acknowledged the intimacy of the crowd by mentioning that she could see everybody’s faces. 

Before Lady Heroine’s set concluded Franciso asked the audience, “can I come down there and jump with you guys?” The majority of the audience came together to jump with the singer as upbeat guitar riffs and a scream from Gallardo flooded the background. The show concluded a little before 9:30, rounding out the short sets from the three bands. 

Lady Heroine, The Place Lives and Slide’s discographies are available on major streaming platforms.