Photos and review by: Jason Robey

Carrboro, NC — As the first leg of the tour for her new album, Late Checkout, comes to a close with a trio of North Carolina shows, Karina Rykman made the evening’s mission clear from her first step on stage – make sure every person in the room had a good of a time as her. Known for highly energetic stage presence and impressive bass skills, Rykman released Late Checkout, her second album, at the end of September.

Opening the show was the Alabama quintet Wax Monkey. The band ran through a 45-minute set of groove-laden jams, based around a handful of mostly original songs. The conversational style of the group’s improvisation laid the groundwork for engaging jams and smooth-as-butter transitions between songs. One highlight of the set was an extended take on the well-known theme from the movie 2001, “Also Sprach Zarathustra.”

Rykman and her band took the stage with an electrifying and extra jammy version of her instrumental “Dirty South,” kicking off an hour and a half of non-stop, fast-paced music. Karina’s melodic approach to bass locked in perfectly with drummer Chris Corsico for a thunderous performance of Late Checkout tracks like “Shoegaze Summer” and “Childlike” alongside older fan-favorites such as “Joyride” and “Plants.” The band threw the occasional surprise cover into the setlist, starting with a wonderfully frantic take Paul McCartney’s “Coming Up,” tagged onto the original “Easy Rider.” Later in the evening, they would take on the popular Butthole Surfers’ tune “Pepper,” breathing a new poppy life into the 90s alternative rock anthem.

With her infectiously cheerful and magnetic stage presence, Karina easily keeps the attention of every person in the room, bouncing with the energy of a kid on halloween, while never missing a note. A mid-set take of the long-time live staple “City Kids” was an easy highlight of the night’s excitement, with its lightning quick rap over a driving beat that is practically impossible for even the most reserved in the crowd to resist dancing. Choosing to forgo the wasted time of pretending to leave the stage for an encore, the band kept the vibes rolling through a string of catchy tunes woven with blissful jams featuring impeccable interplay between guitarist Adam November and keyboardist Pete Miller. As they brought the night to a close with “Atom Dance,” Rykman made good on her promise to beeline to the merch table to meet every fan willing to hang out for a few minutes. The group is hitting the road for the west coast leg of the tour, check Karina Rykman’s website and social media for dates.