PDX Live is only in its third year of hosting concerts in Portland, Oregon’s iconic Pioneer Courthouse Square, but the formula of outdoor music, good drinks, and a downtown atmosphere is clearly working for organizers. I mean, how could you go wrong with that combination? This summer’s concert series kicked off with Sleater-Kinney treating the Portland crowd to a fantastic show on an equally fantastic summer evening in the Rose City.

The band opened up the night very similarly to their last show in Portland, which was back in early April at the Crystal Ballroom, again starting again with the moody “Hell” before transitioning into “Needlessly Wild.” “A New Wave” finally deviated from the previous show’s formula and saw Carrie Brownstein moving around the stage and jamming on her guitar with Corin Tucker’s chin nestled over her shoulder.

You could tell the band was simply happy to be back onstage after having to cancel a number of recent tour dates due to an illness in the band, and being back home in Portland for the final show of the tour was maybe the lift they needed to close out strong. The setlist was a healthy mix of old and new, but did lean towards the band’s more recent work with “Dress Yourself,” “Small Finds,” and “Dress Yourself,” from 2024’s Little Rope album all making appearances in the setlist. “Modern Girl” and “Dig Me Out” are staples of any Sleater-Kinney show and their pairing helped close out the main set before “Entertain” brought the show to the encore break.

And that encore—it was something else! A surprise string quartet joined the band to run through “Untidy Creature” and “Say It Like You Mean It” before delightfully wrapping up the night with “The Center Won’t Hold,” the title track from their 2019 album.