Mannequin Pussy
Great Scott – Allston, MA – September 19, 2019
One of the joys of being an avid music listener is getting absolutely blindsided by a band you’ve never heard before. I try never to pay too much attention when listening to new music, which is a perfect way to let an album kick your ass out of nowhere. This year that album is definitely Mannequin Pussy’s Patience. It turns out I had actually heard of them before, having seen them play the Chris Gethard show a few years back, but as great of a show as that was, and as impeccably as their musical guests were curated, their format of airing the first 30 seconds of a musical performance was a huge letdown. So Mannequin Pussy came and went, unnoticed, until this year.
It only takes a few listens to get why Patience is so great. It’s all sorts of stuff rolled into one. It’s dark, peppy, funny, honest, heavy, brutal, solemn, angry, sweet, and smart all at the same time. And it sounds fucking great, partly due to band’s musicianship, and to producer Will Yip. With a band getting so much buzz, and playing arguably the best venue in Boston, this had the makings of the show of the year.
Great Scott knows how to turn out a good crowd, who is both enthusiastic and in tune to what’s going on onstage. This show had been sold out for months and the anticipation has definitely been building up to this show. Wasting no time, Mannequin Pussy took the stage at 10:50 and wailed at their 21 song set in just over 40 minutes. I was expecting a formidable performance and a well oiled machine, and I got exactly that. But I have to first give it up to Kaleen Reading and Colins Regisford for being the wildest and most in-sync rhythm section in music right now. It truly takes a live performance to appreciate the complexity of their work and how their chemistry lays the perfect foundation for explosive singer/guitarist Marisa Dabice. With such a hit album on their hands, it’s no surprise that they played the entire album (almost?) and still managed to include several of their older songs. The band got on stage, gave it their all, blew some faces off, and we owe them for it.
It’s hard to say what’s next for Mannequin Pussy as a band. Is this some sort of peak, or have they just started finding themselves as a band? Who knows? Magic like this doesn’t come very often and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll go experience it while it still lasts.
