It’s a balmy night in Brooklyn, the kind that quietly ushers in the softness of spring. Cherry blossom petals float by, swept in a gentle breeze, and the setting sun bathes everything in a soft pink light.
It’s a perfect night for a punk show.
Inside Brooklyn Steel on Tuesday, there’s no sign of the calm spring evening outside, all that quiet forgotten in favor of wailing guitar riffs, mosh pits, and everything else LA-based quartet The Linda Lindas have to offer. Teenage members Bela Salazar, Elise Wong, and sisters Lucia and Mila de la Garza are a riotous act harkening back to the glory days of riot grrrl and co-signed by Kathleen Hanna herself.
Baltimore-area group Pinkshift kicked off the night with a buzzy, energetic set that packed a major punch, leaving fans missing them the second they stepped off stage. If any fans in the crowd were feeling the ache of a long Tuesday and secretly yearning for the comfort of their couch, Pinkshift took care of that with ease, leaving the crowd infinitely more hyped up than they were pre-set. And it certainly made an impact, as a quick peek into the lobby between sets showed a growing line of fans, new and old, at their merch table.
If Pinkshift turned the dial up to eleven, then The Linda Lindas broke it all the way off. An unforgettable, fiery performance that consisted of tracks from 2024’s No Obligation to breakout hit “Racist, Sexist Boy,” The Linda Lindas showed Brooklyn Steel what being punk is really about.
energy levels
High and higher, but still considerate. The Linda Linda’s are a new era of punk, decrying capitalism and patriarchy in the same breath as standard teenage angst. Their songs provide the perfect soundtrack to headbang out the day’s stress, but unlike the mosh pits of yesteryear, this crowd wasn’t interested in taking that stress out on each other.
The audience was surprisingly all-ages, ranging from gaggles of grade school-aged girls to rock oldheads in distressed Bikini Kill tees. It seems this crowd isn’t as interested in the “old way” of doing rock shows, where you were always at risk of a grown man’s Vans-clad foot coming down on your head or an errant swinging fist knocking your teenage glasses off. So despite the themes of the music, the anger at patriarchal standards (“Excuse Me”) or lingering anxiety (“Yo Me Estreso”), the crowd isn’t a dangerous one. It’s lively and moving but it’s also keeping a watchful eye on its youngest participants and ensuring they get to have the same safe space to get out some of that pent up frustration.
standout performances
Resolution/Revolution: Short and succinct, “Resolution/Revolution” doesn’t pull its punches. Revealing some surprising metalcore scream vocals, it’s exactly the kind of unladylike song that has teen fans throughout the crowd up and jumping.
Yo Me Estreso: The group hails from Chinese, Mexican, and Salvadoran backgrounds, and their experiences as young women of color shape their music. This track is sung in Spanish, led by guitarist Bela Salazar. Even if fans don’t speak Spanish, the circus-like plucky acoustic guitar and rhythmic, repetitive lyric structure paints a clear picture of yet another anxiety spiral that even the one spiraling knows is silly.
Racist, Sexist, Boy: This lightning-in-a-bottle song that caught the attention of icons like Tom Morello and Kathleen Hanna is The Linda Lindas at their purest form. It’s evident why this song is the one that launched their career. Anyone who’s dealt with a racist, sexist, boy knows the exact feeling of just wanting to scream. The catharsis of this song and experiencing getting to sing along to it in a room full of people who also understand that feeling is unmatched.
All In My Head: One of the group’s more pop-punk leaning tracks, “All In My Head” is a lighter note to end the night on. It’s the kind of song you would dance around the room to at a sleepover, belting out the chorus into a hairbrush and jumping on your pink comforter that you’re just starting to outgrow. The concert kind of feels like that kind of night, like those moments in young adulthood where you’re allowed a brief moment without shame: dancing in front of a mirror, singing to the radio with the car windows rolled down. On stage, during this song, The Linda Lindas could be the crowd’s best friend, jumping around their room with them.
high notes
The movement. You could hardly blink without missing something — one glance away from the stage and suddenly guitarist Lucia de la Garza is on the drum stand or bassist Elise Wong is on top of a speaker and leaning into the crowd.
There’s a nearly frenetic energy, whip-fast but never out of control, like a perfectly choreographed routine. The band’s interpersonal chemistry plays out excellently on stage, creating a performance as visually interesting as the music.
for fans of
Their inner teenager.
As someone with years of experience as an angsty, moody teen, I’ve been to my fair share of rock shows, and I felt a hesitancy to attend another. I spent too many shows being shoved around, stepped on, and all over treated like my presence as a woman in the scene was unwanted (which, generally, it was.) Women had to earn their place in the pit by toughing it out, and I’m not ashamed to say it turned me off the genre by the time I reached college. That, and the fact that a lot of the musicians I was raging to turned out to be abusers. It’s hard to find music as an emotional outlet when it’s becoming part of the reason you’re so angry.
But that’s not this crowd. In fact, this crowd is largely young women. Some are children, even, decked out in glow stick crowns and gleefully spinning their way in an all-ages circle pit.
This isn’t something I had as a young girl. I had all these emotions, this anger and resentment and emotional sensitivity, and my only outlet was in crowds of men listening to other men singing about hating their girlfriends. Watching The Linda Lindas on stage healed a sore spot I hadn’t even realized I had. The young girls in that crowd get to experience something I didn’t, but instead of envy, I only feel pride.
verdict
Go see the Linda Lindas the first chance you have. High-octane and cathartic yet warm and welcoming, they’ll have your inner teen absolutely singing.
If you weren’t able to catch them on this tour, The Linda Lindas will be hitting the festival circuit at both Reading and Leeds this summer.
For more concert recaps, check out our review of Kenshi Yonezu here.
