Jun 15, 20242 min read

Mannequin Pussy - female rage, sweat and moshing, live in Lille

As people gather in the locally known Le Grand Mix venue, the punk-rock trio CLT DRP take the spotlight to prepare the crowd for a sweaty night ahead. The female fronted band from Brighton takes the crowd on an energetic trip through their diverse discography, from scream led choruses to electronic infused beats. The front woman Annie does not shy away from singing in people's faces and stretching from the stage to make the audience immersed in the music.

At 9pm sharp, the Mannequin Pussy band sets up on stage while frontwoman Marisa struts on stage to the beat. For the next hour the band turns the small venue into a sweaty and loud congregation of rock fans, letting out their emotions to the passionate and electrifying music.

In between songs, the singer whispers monologues into the mic, grabbing everyone’s attention and making them listen to her every word. Before the song 'I Got Heaven' she talks of the power behind the song, a refute of the homophobic agenda and one of its claims that LGBTQIA people will go to hell. The song speaks as a firm dismissal of these ideologies, while also standing as the title of the bands’ latest album, which came out earlier this year.

An essential memory of the night is when bassist Colins Regisford performs the song 'Pigs Is Pigs', that he explains is a condemnation of police brutality against black people in the United States and the fear the community has to walk around with daily: 'Walking around with a fever on my skin/ I’m hanging by a thread, a saviour for my sin' and also condemns the killing of innocent children in Gaza.

Mannequin Pussy might have been playing to a couple hundred people but their performance shows that they are larger than life, and are certainly set to be recognised as one of the pivotal bands of their generations. With confidence and grit, the band is a standout act to watch out for. If you need to lose yourself in a night of powerful and high intensity music, Mannequin Pussy are still on tour all throughout the summer, passing through London June 20th & 22nd.