Mannequin Pussy and OVLOV played at Ridgewood venue Trans-Pecos Thursday, June 14th with opening bands Slow Mass and Meneka.
The music venue, equipped with a full bar and backyard, filled up quickly after the opening bands played and the crowd eagerly awaited the headliners.
Steve Hartlett, lead singer, and guitarist of OVLOV, walked on stage wearing noise-canceling headphones explaining that he recently had a concussion. Nevertheless, their sound was as loud as ever, thrashing through the space and vibrating throughout the floor. They began by playing songs from their unreleased new album, TRU, and then transitioned to their older music by playing “There’s My Dini!” and other hits off their last album, AM. Multiple people in the crowd could be seen exchanging looks of amazement as they watched the band play a remarkably clean yet incredibly lively set that filled the room with an all-encompassing energy. It was one of those rare instances where an opening band shows so much potential and quality in their music, it’s a surprise they are not bigger than they are. After expressing this a friend commented that, “Sometimes bands are only as big as they want to be.” Which is true, and maybe the point, but still doesn’t change the fact that they played a kick-ass show.
The deafening sound created by OVLOV was matched by lead singer of Mannequin Pussy, Marisa Dabice as she brought fury, rage, but also tenderness to the stage. Playing songs from their last album Romantic and a handful of unreleased songs as well, Mannequin Pussy’s erratic punk rock sound hits hard on a lot of levels. Their songs are short and sweet but manage to capture a wide spectrum of emotions. Similar to their last album Romantic coming in at just under 20 minutes, their set was short, concise yet wildly diverse. They filled the space with an addictive energy that leaves you desperately wanting more.
Keep an eye out for the release of OVLOV’s new album TRU and Mannequin Pussy’s upcoming tour dates by following their Instagrams @ovlovgram and @mannequinpussy.
