Concert Review: Mannequin Pussy Touches Heaven at Mohawk
Although their set was cut short due to poor weather conditions, Mannequin Pussy couldn’t have thundered harder at their sold-out show on April 20.
Written by Julianna Riccioli
Photos by Mackenzie Coleman
Even as storm clouds loomed over the outdoor stage of Mohawk, the venue buzzed with anticipation as crowds awaited the hardcore punk opener, Soul Glo, and the explosive headliner, Mannequin Pussy, on the fifth stop of their I Got Heaven tour. It was clear as the clock ticked closer to showtime and the audience continued to grow that everyone was waiting eagerly for Mannequin Pussy on the aptly dated April evening.
Mannequin Pussy has been thriving in the punk music scene since their conception in 2010, but they’ve found their footing with their current member lineup and sound in 2024. In an interview with The New York Times, lead singer Marisa (Missy) Dabice explained, “it’s rare to say this, but we got a little lucky with the pandemic,” because the band had the chance to be discovered and gain new followers online, yet they simultaneously felt creatively crushed. Though they released an EP in 2021 titled Perfect, Mannequin Pussy’s March 2024 release of I Got Heaven catapulted them back into the limelight with their first full album since 2019.
Arriving promptly for an 8:00 p.m. start time, opener Soul Glo set the exhilarating mood for the evening. Lead singer Pierce Jordan demanded audiences to mosh, stagedive, and scream along to the band’s songs throughout their set, yelling “I need more!” to encourage energy from the head-bobbing, stampeding pit. At the intersection of hardcore rock and hip-hop, songs like “If I Speak (Shut the Fuck Up)” and “Driponomics” encouraged the crowd to rush to the front of the stage just as Jordan requested. From behind the stage, the bassist from Mannequin Pussy, Colins (Bear) Regisford, could be seen enjoying the set and Jordan’s death growls just as much as the audience. Flashing lights and a dark blue glow illuminated Jordan on stage as he sang the aggressive track, “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?),” while the crowd and band alike screamed, “who gon’ beat my ass?” on repeat to close the set. Soul Glo’s intensity proved to be more than enough to hype up the crowd before Mannequin Pussy. After two to three minutes of continuous applause, Jordan departed the stage and ended the band’s segment with a simple “thanks” to the screaming audience.
Though it began to drizzle at 9:02 p.m., Mannequin Pussy began setting up and officially started to play soon after 9:10 p.m. with a slower synth song from I Got Heaven, titled “I Don’t Know You.” This song explored how sweetness and simplicity can devolve into madness as this longing serenade switched to an accusatory, regretful ballad, mixing punk with shoegaze.
Before the next song, Dabice, dressed in a white babydoll dress, floral tights, and combat boots, greeted the crowd to rancorous cheers. She prefaced the opening guitar riff with a whispered “I’m so fucking ready,” into the mic. The heavy crunch of guitar in this track titled “Sometimes” was reminiscent of ‘90s grunge, with the layered vocals granting a post-punk, raw sound that audience members screamed along to as Dabice repeated, “Just sometimes,” in the outro.
As Dabice navigated a past relationship with newfound confidence and tenacity in real time on stage in the song “Nothing Like,” the rain began to pour rather than sprinkle on a surprisingly welcoming crowd. It was an uncommon yet appreciated view to see only a smattering of phones in the audience at a concert of such a big size. In between pushing wet hair out of eyes, listeners stared at the band with their full attention.
Before the next song of the night, Dabice asked the audience, “Is it raining yet?” to an astounding “Yes!” and agreeing screams from the soaking crowd. Wasting no time, however, the band tumbled into “Patience,” a cathartic, chaotic song from Mannequin Pussy’s 2019 album of the same name. As she hopped and flounced around on stage to the cheers of a moshing pit, Dabice complimented the crowd, telling them, “You all look beautiful in the rain, like mystical little nymphs.”
The band followed “Patience” with a slightly newer song from their 2021 EP Perfect, “Control,” a punk anthem in which Dabice sang, “I know I’m not waiting / I’m in control,” to the wail of electric guitar and drums. They then played another track from the Patience album, “Drunk II.” This track channeled similar punk sounds, as Dabice’s bittersweet, anguished vocals lamented a breakup over fast tempos and electric instruments. Blue and purple LEDs continued brightening up the small stage, while green vectors cast swirling light across the bustling crowd.
At the show’s (unknowing) halfway mark, Mannequin Pussy shifted back to some I Got Heaven songs with a slower track, “Softly.” While Dabice utilized whispery vocals, Maxine Sheen, the band’s guitarist, graced listeners with a dreamy tone on the electric guitar and a hovering, twinkling sound on synth. “Split Me Open” maintained the delicate, calmer attitude in this slower song, only to crescendo in the middle with a plea from Dabice — ”I’m asking for time / I’m begging for space!” — and the repetition of the haunting question, “Nothing’s gonna change?” sung by the screaming audience alongside her.
Before the next song, Dabice encouraged listeners to join in even louder on “Loud Bark” — a defiant, hardcore track about self-empowerment and resistance. Flashes of white light on stage could easily be confused for the increasing threat of lightning, but it didn’t matter to listeners because each line was a chance to scream frustrations in the form of the repeated phrase, “I’ve got a loud bark, deep bite!”
Dabice prefaced the next track by “dedicating” it to the audience’s “God-fearing parents.” “I Got Heaven” epitomized Mannequin Pussy’s punk, hardcore, and riot grrrl roots, and it’s surely what Kristen Stewart, in her interview with Rolling Stone, meant about Mannequin Pussy having a “really positive and sultry growl that is … shoving our faces in, like, the bush of being a woman.” Dabice proved her duality as she vulnerably told the audience, “I’m stuck inside my loneliness / I’m stuck inside my grief,” in one moment and asked the raunchy question, “And what if Jesus himself ate my fucking snatch?” in the next.
The heavier, heady tracks of the night had officially begun, with “Of Her” lasting a little over 90 seconds, each full of yelling, feverish guitars, and feedback permeating throughout the venue. The crowd began to jump and mosh harder, especially as “Aching” tumbled after “Of Her,” which consisted of another 90 seconds of chaos as Dabice and bassist Regisford screamed the lyrics together. “Everything,” a song from Mannequin Pussy’s second album Romantic, encouraged more audience participation in the form of stage diving.
The night's last song was the slightly cut short “Perfect,” which followed in the punk-rock footsteps of previous songs. Bloodthirsty and beautiful, this track from the EP of the same name played with the fuzz and grit of heavy metal, while Dabice laughed and asked the audience to “Tell me I’m it / Tell me I’m beauty!”
However, in the second half of the song, Mohawk and the tour crew began removing equipment and tech from the stage. Dabice breathlessly told the crowd they would have to stop the show because of the increasingly dangerous storm. She thanked the crowd for coming, departing with a thankful goodbye and a promise to “be back soon.” With her parting words serving as a release from the spell, the audience departed the pit and layered balconies to join the growing merch line or to find their Uber from the endless stream of cars outside the venue. With the help of the hardcore opener Soul Glo, Mannequin Pussy swept fans off their feet, and it was clear that everyone left Mohawk already wishing for their return.