Reaching Heaven with Mannequin Pussy
Article and photos by Josie Stahler
Any other Wednesday night would include a monotonous evening of routine, but last week at Thalia Hall was anything other than ordinary. Mannequin Pussy and their opener Soul Glo shook the walls and opened the pit for an unforgettable Wednesday evening in Chicago.
Opening for Mannequin Pussy was Philadelphia based Soul Glo. Members Pierce Jordan, GG Guerra, and TJ Stevenson ran around the stage, creating this frenetic hardcore presence to get the crowd riled up. The band had fun interacting with the crowd too, holding the mic over the pit like a fishing rod waiting for a good catch. Their harsh vocal screams and intense guitar riffs on tracks inspired everyone to move around the room, heating up Thalia Hall for the night ahead. They closed with their hit “Gold Chain Punk” and were met with high praise from the room.
In between sets, the pre-show music included a mix of club anthems from Charli XCX to Kylie Minogue. A seemingly strange genre shift from the acts performing, but makes sense when you consider how Mannequin Pussy is able to seamlessly move genres from indie to hardcore at the drop of a hat. The crowd danced and kept the energy going as they awaited the main act to arrive.
Soon enough the lights went down and Mannequin Pussy took the stage, instantly commanding the room. Marisa "Missy" Dabice floated onstage in a flowy white dress, an angel descending upon the onlookers below. The band took their spots and started on their slow track, “I Don’t Know You” which listeners instantly became enamored with.
The band consisting of Dabice, bassist Colins "Bear" Regisford, drummer Kaleen Reading and guitarist Maxine Steen, worked their way from the slow and sentimental into the hardcore, cathartic tracks. They mainly played songs off their latest album, I Got Heaven, one of their most cohesive and emotionally driven works to date. A standout song was, “Loud Bark” which starts quietly and inches towards a screeching chorus. The band teased fans by barking and having them bark back. “Aching” also got the pit moving, an intense track about desire.
By far the most powerful moment of the set was when Marisa quieted her screams into whispers, and she wandered the stage talking about how every person in the room has a pit in their stomach, a deep sadness that is always in search of a cure. She explained that as part of the set, the entire concert hall would take a moment to let out a cathartic scream, a sound that you didn’t even know you were capable of. Her monologue led to a countdown, and the room filled with guttural screams of relief.
The band finished out their set with the chaotically brilliant “OK? OK! OK? OK!” then were ushered back onstage for an encore. It was an evening that struck a balance between emotionally vulnerable and aggressively therapeutic. Days after the set the music still rings, a reminder to let it out every once in a while and relieve the pit in your stomach.
Check out Soul Glo on Instagram here!
Check out Mannequin Pussy on Instagram here!
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