Petite League brings vigor to Washington D.C.’s Pie Shop

From Queens, New York, quartet Petite League performed a high-intensity, classic indie rock set for viewers at Washington, D.C.’s Pie Shop. 

Having met in Syracuse University’s Scarier Dome, a house venue dedicated to hosting shows for touring bands and producing live music, Lorenzo Cook (vocals, songwriter, guitar) and Henry Schoonmaker (drums) created their first two records during their graduating year. After moving to Queens in 2016, Adam Greenberg (guitar) and Kevin McCallum (bass) joined the ensemble. Since then, the band has released six albums, each topping the last with their hard electric guitar beats, pounding drums, and witty lyrics that highlight the talent of these four indie artists.

Petite League kicked off their show with “Dagger Eyes,” a song off their 2022 album Thrill Seekers. The fast-paced, energetic piece got the crowd immediately nodding their heads to the guitar strums and Cook’s singing. Immediately after, they played into “Moon Dogs,” the staccato nature of every drum pound feeding the venue’s atmosphere with nothing but pure excitement.

The band took a break to joke about how this was their third time playing in D.C. “The first time we played in D.C. it was terrible. The second time was great. This one’s our tiebreaker.” Following was their song “New Tricks,” a more simplistic, slower track than the previous ones.

About halfway through their set, Petite League performed a new, unreleased song that emitted their classic gritty musicality -- the use of electric and drum playoffs, a strong bass, Cook’s unique voice, and an essence that’s purely New York City.

“Not Always Happy” and “Sun Dogs” came next, both songs from their earlier albums in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Toward the end of the show, Cook explained how the “setlist is quite loose actually,” a nod to their go-with-the-flow energy, and their dedication to putting on individualistic performances in the different cities they play in.

Slowing down once again with “Raspberry Seeds,” Petite League illustrated their range in creating rattling tracks centered around getting people on their feet, and more profound, softer songs such as the one mentioned.

The band closed with “Yung Bubblegum,” one of their most popular songs at over one million Spotify streams, and “Pantone Karaoke,” another song of Thrill Seekers. Both of these pieces not only reflect how far Petite League has come as a band, but serve as their blueprint for the kind of work they’re dedicated to making: hard-hitting, danceable, dynamic tracks that are reminiscent of the indie rock bands before them -- The Strokes, Sonic Youth -- but are somehow indescribably singular to them.

You can see Petite League on tour here.

Cover photo and tour poster from Instagram.