Turnstile Make SNL Debut, Taylor Swift Cameos

Saturday Night Live went hardcore. Last night's episode was hosted by Dakota Johnson with musical guest Turnstile. As pointed out in the episode promos, Turnstile are the first hardcore band to play Saturday Night Live since the infamous Fear performance 45 years ago this month. (Though then-Jesus Piece drummer Luis Aponte did play with Charli XCX on the show in 2021!)Turnstile go beyond hardcore of course: they were the first act to be nominated for rock, alternative, and metal awards in a single Grammys ceremony. (They won Best Rock Album and Best Metal Performance.) They played “Birds,” which opened with Daniel Fang delivering a sick drum solo, as well as the “I CARE”/“DULL” medley. They sounded excellent, with lead singer Brendan Yates supplying plenty of high kicks and stunning stage spins. During the second performance, the band played in front of a wall of rotary telephones, setting up a particularly cool transition: the lights went dark, leaving a single phone blinking red on the wall, like the Powerpuff Girls phone, as Yates began singing, “Deep in the night, I’m waiting for the call.”Johnson, who was promoting her new movie Verity, was also bringing in a new year. Today i...