For one night, Canal Street spread down to the Ritz as Scene Queen took residence and the pinkest audience of queer people got ready for a night of debauchery in what could be the gayest show of the year, featuring Lake Malice and Girli. Feel free to take umbrage with this review, calling you gay because you went to a Scene Queen concert, but sometimes you have to make assumptions like that. You’re also a theatre kid who likes frogs.
Lake Malice went first and having seen them three times before, it’s really time we made this band a household name in the alternative scene. Lake Malice are pure unbridled fury that takes influences from industrial metal, nu metal and whatever else you could to create some of the most aggressive music on a bill fueled by blinding rage. Tracks like ‘Scatterbrain’ and ‘Creepers’ have this industrial hardcore feeling throughout, vaguely reminiscent of Enter Shikari at times, albeit with a bit more emphasis on aggression rather than being progressive.
Tracks like ‘Stop the Party’ and ‘Nobody Wants You’ brilliantly embody the feeling of femme-presenting people and women dealing with anxieties around attending shows and dealing with hostile environments, be it caused by their mental health or real life factors like predatory men in the scene. Vocalist Alice Guala remarked, “can you believe this lineup is so female fronted?” and called attention to just how female-friendly a show of this calibre can be, a factor that should be present in all shows.
The set ended with a violent roar from Alice Guala during ‘Bloodbath,’ and the audience waited patiently for a more laid-back set from Girli. Girli appeared and we were welcomed with a more pop-rock approach, think Warped Tour-era Katy Perry and you’re in the right ballpark.
Girli was accompanied by just a drummer, which was strange considering straight-up rock and metal dominated the bill but the change of pace was still welcome. Tracks like ‘Messy’ had a sing-talk structure reminiscent of bands like The Streets, and there was still an abundance of feminist driven dialogue about equality on tracks like ‘Nothing Hurts Like A Girl’ and ‘Matriarchy’. There’s even a bit of a Kelly Clarkson-style track in the form of ‘More Than a Friend’.
The crowdpleaser moment of the set came right before ‘I Really F*cked It Up’ when Girli said “I would like to channel the rage in this song to JK Rowling” in reference to Rowling’s total inability to acknowledge trans women as women and just the general ignorance that permeates through her cursed franchise. The light and colourful pop tone helps disguise a feeling of genuine malaise and contempt for injustice and mistreatment throughout the modern world as well as a fundamental need to create a diverse and loving atmosphere. It’s the paradox of tolerance: the only way to cultivate a tolerant space is by being intolerant of intolerance.
After a break, Scene Queen finally hit the stage with the crushing one-two punch of ‘BDSM’ and ‘Pink Push Up Bra,’ which satisfied everyone here for metal for just a little bit. The set was full of a good mix of straight-up savage metalcore and bubblegum pop sensibilities like the disco-tinged brand new single, ‘Platform Shoes,’ and the country metal banger, ‘MILF’.
Having missed Pride Month by a few months, Scene Queen said “I’ve been told that Manchester is a very gay city,” and it’s very true. The Ritz is very close to Manchester’s Gay Village, so it felt appropriate hearing so many queer people screaming about gay stuff during tracks like ‘Pink Panther’.
Scene Queen’s music has been quietly experimental over the past few years, so it’s exciting waiting to see what she’ll do next. I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed that ‘L Shaped Couch’ is absent from the setlist but perhaps it will show up in future shows. Seeing as this is her first headline show in Manchester, there’s likely some obligation to play all the classics, of which there were many.
The show took a bit of a break to indoctrinate some of the locals into a cult. The audience in Manchester was finally inducted into Bimbo Beta Pi, a sorority in which Scene Queen fans can find each other and bond over the experience of seeing the heaviest, pinkest show possible. It was a really wholesome experience, and the people on stage seemed to have a wonderful time too. Icons holding up icons was the theme during this interlude.
You could easily interpret Scene Queen’s music as man-hater music, but that’s usually down to the listener choosing to believe that the song is about them, which says a lot about you if you think about it. ‘Mutual Masturbation’ is a brilliant example of this as it deals with obnoxious music nerds talking about banal music nerd stuff, all while being an incredibly catchy banger.
The show ended with the eternal classic and anthem of accountability and denouncement of those we don’t want in our scene, ’18+’. This is clearly about Guy Namington, a band that has garnered criticism and disdain in the scene for years with little consequence till now. ’18+’ is not only a brilliant track but it’s also a reminder to have your local pop punk band spayed or neutered as soon as possible.
Scene Queen is becoming a massive figure in the scene who fights for LGBTQ+ rights, inclusivity and diversity amongst a largely male-dominated space. Not every day boasts a win but we are still edging slowly towards a safer scene for everyone with each show and song we platform from a queer artist. For those who were made uncomfortable by any of the ideas in this article or show, please direct your complaints to your local roundabout.
