The Bitch Cabal Tour pulled into The Eastern on November 3 with Wednesday and Mannequin Pussy sharing the top of the bill and Snõõper warming up the room beforehand. Co-headlining runs can feel like a hand-off, but this one played more like a team-up: two bands that have spent the last few years pushing their respective corners of indie rock and punk into louder, messier, more honest territory, sharing a stage and a crowd that clearly came ready for both. The night also had a good cause attached, with $1 from every ticket going to support organizations through the tour’s PLUS1 partnership.
Mannequin Pussy opened with “Sometimes,” setting the tone right away with raw, dreamy, and unrelenting urgency. Fronted by Missy Dabice, the band moved between ferocious bursts of noise and the melodic, power-pop-tinged side that defines their latest record, I Got Heaven, without losing any momentum. Tight, focused, and fearless, it was a reminder of how well their sound, equal parts punk bite and shimmering melody, translates live.
