Girl at the Rock Shows

Do you ever find yourself worrying about the youth of today? Are you worried they are rotting their brains out with social media or don’t know how to dress appropriately? Well, stop. Saturday night at The Fine Line proved that we have nothing to worry about. In fact, it proved that kids are doing life right these days as they came out in droves for a live, sold-out punk rock show.

Before I get into the headliner of the night and the reason for the completely sold-out show. Let’s talk about the opening band, Pinkshift. I’ve been obsessed with this band since the first time I saw them open for PUP in April 2022. I saw them again when they headlined at The 7th Street Entry that October, but it’s been a hot minute. Although I knew I was excited to see them, I had forgotten why this band had carved out a spot in my heart. This Baltimore, Maryland-based band stormed the stage and instantly jumped into an intense hardcore-leaning pop-punk heavy set. I feared their set might be a bit too heavy for the ultra-young audience in attendance, but instead, the band leaned into it. Without outwardly explaining it all, I loved watching this band show the audience how to act at a show. They spoke of the importance of inclusion and trans rights and ensured everyone at the show was involved in their set in one way or another.

Although not as young as the other band to play, this group is still young, but you wouldn’t have known that from their performance. They came off as seasoned professionals, but that’s not a surprise. Pinkshift has been around since 2019 and, even with some hiccups and line-up changes, has perfected the art of a live performance. You could feel their sweat on your back as they jumped their way through the set, and you could feel vocalist Ashrita Kumar’s words rattle your bones with a sense of poignant desperation and hope all at the same time. I’m sure some of the parents were less than thrilled about the pit that formed multiple times throughout Pinkshift’s set, but that was one of the many highlights for me. Just seeing kids getting sweaty and pushing and shoving their way through a set, just like I used to do when I was young, was one of the many reasons that Pinkshift’s spot in my heart grew about eight sizes on Saturday night.

I’ve only ever seen the headlining act, The Linda Lindas, at giant shows, including at The Xcel Energy Center when opening for Paramore, so I was super excited to see what this ultra-young band could bring to the table when it came to a more standard and intimate club show. I mean it when I say that this band is ultra-young. Formed in Los Angeles in 2018, there’s not a single member of this band over the age of twenty. Just let that sink in for a minute. This group of friends is out there, touring the world, playing with the greats, and now headlining their own tour, and they can’t even drink yet. Mind-blowing, right? I mean, you can fight me on that, I guess, but you just have to see this band live because it’s clear that it’s more than just a gimmick. This band is not where they are today just because of the buzzworthiness of their age, they are there because of their sheer talent that was laid out on the stage on Saturday night.

Every single song of their seventeen-song set and three-song encore was served up with a sense of perfection. Okay, that’s not quite true. Honestly, the band seemed to struggle with their microphones and almost constant breaks of feedback coming through their speakers, but they didn’t miss a beat or a note. A lot of bands would get frustrated with feedback issues. Maybe even go so far as to stop a song when it’s happening and try to reset but not The Linda Lindas. Although I’m sure their ears were bleeding from said feedback, this band powered through. Doing this night after night, I can tell you that this is rare, and seeing that coming from such a new band spoke volumes to me and to anyone else who understood what was going on.

Although a few covers were thrown into the set, The Linda Lindas performed mostly original tracks that highlighted their distinct and classic yet wholly original sound. It’s punk, but it leans into different worlds, from Riot Grrrl to some pop-punk bops. It didn’t matter what this band was playing; they had the audience, both young and old, in the palm of their hands throughout the show and, when it was all over (ending with an insane cover of “Rebel Girl” from Bikini Kill), it was clear that the audience was satisfied but they weren’t. There was such a feeling of joy and admiration floating in the air that it was a night that, clearly, nobody wanted to end.

I could go on and on about this band. About the feats that they have conquered or their dad, who acts as the best advocate that this young band could have ever asked for (and has some pretty insane accolades himself), why give it all away? The Linda Lindas absolutely deserve your attention. They deserve the time it takes to go out to a show, and, as an added bonus, you don’t have to get a babysitter to go see them. Grab your kids, grab your friends’ kids, and go see this band live. No kids? No problem. Go check out this band and get captivated by their strength and talent while simultaneously reminded that, although the world is a scary place, especially for young kids these days, it will all be okay because they have live music, and, sometimes, that’s all you need.

Line Up:

Pinkshift

The Linda Lindas

Venue: Fine Line

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 14

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 2 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- 0

Broken Bones- None Noticed

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Pinkshift – 2

The Linda Lindas – 2

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 9 out of 10

Show on Deck — Emmy Woods / Eldest Daughter / FINICK

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