NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
We last caught the Linda Lindas when they made a surprise stop in Buffalo to do a solo show in the midst of touring with Green Day. It has been wonderful watching these young performers grow up (so to speak) as the oldest, guitarist/vocalist Bela Salazar, is only twenty and the youngest, drummer Mila de la Garza, is still fourteen!! Last year’s sophomore studio album No Obligation showed their maturing songwriting but also seemed to waiver more outside of punk, a little more indie pop and introspective, which makes sense because they’re feeling those crazy teenage feelings as they get a bit older. They closed out their 2025 tour with a final show at Toronto’s Opera House.
I’ve always felt that you need to see opening bands because you never know who’s going to open your eyes and perhaps make it big someday. Pinkshift is one of those bands. Formed in 2018 when frontwoman Ashrita Kumar and guitarist Paul Vallejo met at Johns Hopkins University, they did what any other band does to find a bassist…set up Tinder profiles!!! Yes their beginnings make for a fun story and their parents probably aren’t pleased that they chose music over medicine (I always assume every parent sends their kids to Hopkins so they can become a doctor), but it’s their live performances that make them stand out. The energy of this band is tremendous and you find yourself headbanging whether you wanted to or not! An impromptu mosh pit even formed…at a Linda Lindas concert?!?! As a photographer, it was difficult to figure out where to focus next as each band member was just going nuts so, of course, I ended up capturing none of it! But seriously, what a performance! The second to last song of their set was so hard that we figured it was the finale but there was to be one more song. That didn’t hit as hard but was lovely since Linda Lindas guitarist Lucia de la Garza played, the Linda Linda’s came out to dance with Pinkshift, and to wish Kumar a happy birthday with a cake, after which the whole crowd joined in to sing Happy Birthday!! Their last record “Love Me Forever” came out in 2022 but they’ve release singles more recently and are working on a new album. I look forward to it!
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When the Linda Linda’s took the stage, they immediately amped things up with “No Obligation”, the title track of their latest album. As with Pinkshift, they attacked the stage with a manic energy yet it felt different. The Linda Linda’s aren’t the type of band that makes you headbang and abandon control. They still have a feeling of a very young band making their way in the punk scene. One thing they used to always do but didn’t do at this show was ask all the kids to come up front. I guess their fans are growing up a bit also.
As expected, the first five songs were all from No Obligation. In fact, twelve songs out of their wonderful twenty one song set were from that album with five more from their debut album Growing Up. Add four covers and we have a set! The crowd was a lively bunch with crowd surfers keeping the venue security busy but the biggest cheers from the audience came during “Racist Sexist Boy”, showing that the LInda Lindas’ first hit and the message continues to resonate. Just before, bassist Eloise Wong spoke briefly about the challenges with many of today’s social issues and, while she didn’t mention names, we knew she was referring to the current resident of the White House. Powerful! As usual, they closed out the encore with their cover of Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl” with Pinkshift joining them onstage for the festivities. What a great way to wrap up their tour! I look forward to seeing what these young ladies come up with next, perhaps re-establishing themselves as a punk band or finding their voices in indie pop.
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