Having not listened to them before this week, I was going into The Linda Lindas’ show last night a bit blind. But seeing their name pop up throughout the last few years—via touring with Green Day, working closely with Paramore, and collaborating with my childhood hero “Weird Al” Yankovic—I was excited to catch them at Brooklyn Steel on their tour in support of their latest album, No Obligation.
It was a bit jarring to see how much of the venue was filled with young children and their parents when I first walked in. Although I shouldn’t have been too surprised, considering the members of The Linda Lindas are between the ages of 14 and 20 themselves. I hadn’t been to a show with this many kids since I was one myself, and as a group of them at the barricade started chanting “Linda Lindas” right before the band took the stage, it hit me how much this show brought back the excitement I used to feel about live music growing up.
The pure joy and excitement that kids have when they’re about to see artists they love is unmatched, and both The Linda Lindas and the opener, Pinkshift, delivered that joy and excitement right back. I could really feel it early on when Pinkshift had the crowd form a circle pit, which is something I never would’ve imagined happening at a show with this many families. Pinkshift lead singer Ashrita Kumar assured everyone that they were staying safe by having the crowd yell “pick them back up!” when asking what we do if somebody falls, which is a great way to teach the young crowd-goers proper show etiquette.
When The Linda Lindas took the stage, it felt like a constant party through their set as they jumped, danced, and ran around the stage while playing their high-energy pop-punk songs. Everything about their sound, visuals, and the way the four members were evenly spaced on stage felt like a classic pop-punk show you’d see in a TV show, which is probably partly why so much of their music skews towards families.
Their music, however, isn’t afraid to stray from family-friendly—touching on deeper topics affecting the band members that resonate with today’s youth who have spent the last decade growing up in a deeply divided country. This was hit hard when Elise Wong, the bassist and vocalist, screamed out that we need to fight against defunding of government programs and deportation of immigrants before playing “Racist, Sexist Boy”—the song that helped launch The Linda Lindas into stardom.
The show ended with as much energy as could be mustered when The Linda Lindas invited Pinkshift back to the stage for a big group celebration and collaboration as they closed out with “Rebel Girl,” the Bikini Kill cover featured in the film Moxie. Having all of these friends on stage dancing, singing, and playing their hearts out was the cherry on top of what made this show so fun and youthful.
The Linda Lindas live at Brooklyn Steel April 22nd with words and photos by Bobby Nicholas lll
order tickets for The Linda Lindas HERE
