Hailing from Brighton, UK, Lambrini Girls are my absolute favourite musical discovery of last year. In a similar vein to IDLES or Bob Vylan, they’re exactly the type of abrasive, politically fuelled, angry modern punk that I’ve come to love. The British three-piece were finally set to perform at Theatre Beanfield after frontwoman Phoebe Lunny suffered an injury a few months back, which caused this show to be delayed. So, despite working in Ottawa on the rescheduled date, I boarded an afternoon train and made it on time to catch one of my most anticipated shows of the year.
New York’s Big Girl was the sole opener that evening and, unfortunately, they were plagued with what must have been the roughest-sounding mix I’ve heard at Beanfield. Thin bass, muddy, indistinguishable guitars, and a complete lack of low end. Thankfully, the vocals were cutting through the noise, as frontwoman Kaitlyn Pelkey and her performance demanded to be the centre of attention. She was eccentric, and the performance was much more abstract and artsy than I was expecting. There were some clearly rehearsed moves between band members that were decently executed. They stayed fun while both directly and indirectly bringing attention to some injustices and socio-political issues.
Attempts were made to bring the crowd together by encouraging shoplifting from big box stores, among other things. Audio quality aside, Big Girl were a perfectly suited opener that night. Their music was enjoyable, but I just couldn’t quite get into it as much as I would have wanted. I suppose singing the words “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot” on repeat doesn’t quite rile me up like the lyrics of the evening’s headliners do.
I caught Lambrini Girls once before, at last year’s Riot Fest in Chicago. That half-hour set left me wanting so much more. On their newest record, Phoebe Lunny’s commanding voice angrily tackles a myriad of topics with passion and ferocity. There’s no question where they stand socially or politically. As a result, everybody that shuffles in for their shows knows what they’re getting into. Before the set even began, there was such a strong sense of camaraderie and community present at this show, more than most I’ve been to.
With a bass guitar tone so filthy it would bring a tear to Lemmy’s eye, they kicked things off with the cop-bashing rager Bad Apple. Immediately, a pit opened up and the Montreal crowd was off to the races. The sound in the venue improved slightly, but it was the raw passion and energy that carried Lambrini Girls’ set forward. Tastefully dissonant guitarwork shone in the instrumental moments. The riffs in songs like Company Culture and Love did a phenomenal job of hyping up the crowd between shouted verses.
Bass and drums seamlessly held things down as Lunny occasionally made her way wherever she pleased. Whether it be around the stage, to the barricade, or on the floor, she owned all the venue’s real estate that night. She summoned pit after pit, wall of death after wall of death, with merely a short call on the mic or a flick of the wrist. The energy was just as prevalent on stage, as Samantha Collings stayed an energetic powerhouse behind the kit, and Selin Macieira-Boşgelmez felt like an extension of her instrument, sometimes dropping to the ground to play with her pedals, transforming her gnarly bass tone into that of a mimicked synthesizer.
In the set’s back half, a call for the venue’s largest-ever mosh pit was made, and it may very well have been realized, at the expense of exposing how undersold the show was. Shortly after, their dancey, synth-led Cuntology 101 had the whole floor moving to the sound of empowering self-affirmations. After an encore chant, they closed the night out with Big Dick Energy and, for one last time, Lunny asked for the audience’s help. Not since a Planet Smashers show have I seen this many people willingly crouch down to go crazy when the last chorus hits, but nearly everybody on the Theatre Beanfield floor followed the frontwoman’s lead.
Incredible as it was, I was surprised by how short the set was. The unreleased songs were a treat, but at only 55 minutes long, including the encore, I was surprised they omitted as many songs from their released projects as they did. Hopefully that second LP isn’t too far behind, and can pad their headlining set length a bit more. I won’t hesitate to catch them again.
Review – Mathieu Perrier
Photos – Steve Gerrard
