It’s been about six years since Spinning Platters first encountered The Linda Lindas. They were all in middle school at the time but managed to score the opening slot for Bikini Kill’s second show in 20 years. They played 30 minutes worth of classic punk covers with the skill of players twice their age but with the enthusiasm and curiosity of, well, pre-teens. Fast forward six years, and they have three albums worth of critically acclaimed original material and have risen to be the band effectively leading Gen Alpha to rock ‘n roll.
Opening the show was Nashville’s Be Your Own Pet. At first it seemed odd to bring out a band whose members are 20 years older than the headliner as the support, but 20 years ago, Be Your Own Pet were… a critically adored band of teenaged punks. It was a full circle moment that was likely lost on anyone that isn’t me.
BYOP (the common shorthand for Be Your Own Pet) played a blistering set of songs written at 16 and 36 and almost nothing in between. What did this mean? The Jolt Cola fueled, adolescent frenzy of songs like “We Will Vacation, You Can Be My Parasol” and “Bicycle, Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle” were paired up with the equally fierce but slightly slower (and by slower, I mean moving from a rocket ship to merely a bullet train) reflections on adulthood like “Goodtime!” And seeing teenagers moshing and crowd surfing to the lyric “I got two kids and a mortgage? What the fuck!”
The Linda Lindas. Such a magic entity. All four members share mic duties, and they all bring their own distinctive personalities to the songs when they take the lead. The opening track, “No Obligation,” featured bassist Eloise Wong and their raspy growl on full display for what is practically a classic hardcore song. Drummer Mila de la Garza conjuring up the darkest of The Go-Gos for “Too Many Things.” The emo quiver of Lucia de la Garza for “Once Upon A Time.” And the punk-funk of “Yo me espresso” featuring Bela Salazar on lead. It was a great way to lead the show, presenting the individual songwriters and how they are individuals who work together as a unit without sacrificing who they are. Nobody seemed to be “in charge” of the group; they just worked together. It was deeply refreshing and something that nearly every adult on earth needs to learn how to do.
I would love to discuss every single song of the set, but that would be fun for me to write and a holy terror for you, the reader. So, the highlights! The ballad “Cuántas veces” was greeted with an audience full of cell phone flashlights, illuminating the theater like a starry sky. “Nino,” one of two songs about a band member’s cat, had the audience call for the cat in LA from SF, and we obliged. 
There were two moments of absolute “live rock show” catharsis. The first one started with Eloise performing a deeply honest and angry call to arms of sorts, asking the audience to be on board with the band in their fight against the rise of fascism in the United States. This led straight into the most brilliant and searing rendition of their classic anthem, “Racist Sexist Boy,” which practically led me to tears. The other moment was the encore cut “All In My Head,” which amazes me that it was written by a 17-year-old, as it’s probably the best song I’ve ever heard about the challenges of finding mental health care and also finding the space to manage your own mental health in a world that’s simply too busy for some brain types.
The whole show was brilliant and life-affirming. From my vantage point, I was able to watch a high energy crowd of kids moshing and crowd surfing in the most polite and caring way imaginable- it wasn’t the macho punk, it was a very genuine “we are here to have fun together” that just felt good. There were some older, bigger folks in the crowd, and they all gave the space to the kids since this was really “their” show. I know there is a LOT scary in the world right now, but seeing something so purely wholesome, honest, and great coming from such young, gifted, and respected musicians made me think there is a chance we are gonna win this fight against fascism faster than I thought, and hopefully with a LOT less pain.
