Indie-punk band Mannequin Pussy performed at Bailey Hall on Saturday, Jan. 27 to a crowd of over 500 attendees alongside special guest Pom Pom Squad.
Organized by the Cornell Concert Commission, the show began at 7 p.m., one hour after doors opened. Headliner Mannequin Pussy performed several popular songs from prior projects, including “Control” and “Romantic,” as well as the title track from their upcoming album “I Got Heaven,” which comes out on March 1.
Formed in 2010, the Philadelphia-based punk band consists of Colins “Bear” Regisford on bass and vocals, Kaleen Reading on drums and percussions, Maxine Steen on guitar and synthesizer and Marisa Dabice on guitar and vocals.
“Mannequin Pussy invites listeners to engage urgently, passionately with fundamental human questions about how to live through hair-raising sonic peaks and musical catharsis,” read the Campus Groups event description.
Before Mannequin Pussy took the stage, concertgoers roared as they witnessed Pom Pom Squad’s Mia Berrin, dressed in her hyper-feminine garb, frequently bend over backward onto the stage as she performed.
Based out of Brooklyn, New York, opener Pom Pom Squad is the solo grunge/rock project of Berrin, who first performed under that moniker in 2015. At Bailey Hall, Berrin performed alongside Alex Mercuri on guitar, Lauren Marquez on bass and Shelby Keller on drums. The group performed a few songs from their past album, “Death of a Cheerleader,” but also showcased new music, including their new song “Everybody’s Moving On.”
“This electrifying project [‘Death of a Cheerleader’] explores contradictory tenets of 21st-century young womanhood — the carnality and the vulnerability, the sugar and the defiance. Pom Pom Squad offers a fresh and decidedly black and queer take on picking up the pieces — from heartbreak, from injustice — and creating yourself anew,” read the description from the Cornell Concert Commission.
“I really liked the music,” said Hayden Krushel ’27, reflecting on the night’s performances. “I hadn’t heard of [Pom Pom Squad] before, or of Mannequin Pussy either. But I really like it when they go hard into the guitar, if you know what I mean.”
“These bands were chosen from a narrowed-down, crowd-sourced list. We try to cater to as many genres as possible throughout the year, so we were really excited to finally be able to put on a punk show,” said Madeleine Racciatti ’24, Executive Director of the Cornell Concert Commission.
The Cornell Concert Commission plans to host another event later in the spring whose performing artists are yet to be announced.
Luca Pavlovich ’27 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected].