Dynamic. Explosive: Lambrini Girls in Concert at Delmar Hall

— by Carrie Zukoski

Lambrini Girls made up for their rescheduled spring concert in a big way. The punk rock band out of Brighton, consisting of Phoebe Lunny and Selin Macieira-Boşgelmez, with touring drummer Samantha Collings, brought their riot grrrl best to the stage at Delmar Hall in St. Louis on Friday night.

Brooklyn-based band Big Girl kicked the intensely powerful night off with 35 minutes of their indie-punk style. Fronted by bigger-than-life Kaitlin Pelkey, who commanded the stage, flailing their fiery red locks, oscillated between belting out unabashed, sassy lyrics as on “Side Effects” to singing sweet, quirky melodies as on “quit ur job.”

Next on stage was Birmingham, England’s Big Special. The duo, drummer Callum Moloney and vocalist Joe Hicklin, gave the already packed crowd 35 minutes of raw emotion that cannot be lumped into one genre but has been described as soulful punk poetry. The words TON YRROW tattooed on Hicklin’s neck give a clue to song lyrics that often refer to working-class frustrations or Hicklin’s struggles with depression through dark humor. Their polished studio songs that sometimes weave in some techno beats, as on “BLACK DOG/WHITE HORSE,” were less noticeable in a live setting, yet the emotions came through loud and clear.

When Lambrini Girls hit the darkened stage at about 9:25 p.m., the all-ages crowd surged forward in a near frenzy. In fact, this is one of the most party-like crowds this concert photographer has seen in quite a while. For the next hour-plus, Lunny held the sold-out room in the palm of their hand. Early on, Lunny jumped into the crowd during the fast-paced, noisy “Help Me I’m Gay,” calling for people who identify as gay to dance in the circle they’d created.

The band is brazen and unabashed. Lunny is not afraid to speak out: “We’re not happy with our government! Are you happy with yours?” as they dove into the heavy, driving “God’s Country” with lyrics clear as a bell. The songs are fresh and blatantly cover modern social issues, such as on “Truth To Power” and “Big Dick Energy.” Lunny encouraged fans to mosh and crowd surf while Macieira-Boşgelmez took to the floor to continue pounding on their bass. While some fans thought perhaps this punk rock band was too scripted, another shared that Lunny sizes up the crowd while on stage to see how far they can push the fans. And they pushed hard, but they could push even harder. The driving, pulsating, noisy, grungy, shouty set seemingly ended nearly as soon as it started, leaving fans craving more.

Seeing Lambrini Girls in concert is not for everyone, yet it is something everyone should be exposed to.

See more photos here: https://bit.ly/LambriniGirls26cz