Pussy Riot cancel Israel, playing NYC before Boston Calling & Hangout
Pussy Riot have done various events with various members over the years, some of which were just conversations, and others which included live music. They still insist that “Pussy Riot has never done normal concerts in usual sense of this word, and we intend to continue this tradition,” but the live show that Pussy Riot brought to Austin for SXSW, Chicago, and a few other North American cities this year has been as close to a “concert” as Pussy Riot seem to get. From Austin Chronicle’s review of their SXSW performance:
Pussy Riot’s initial guerilla hit-and-runs in Russia were soundtracked by a raw, modernist take on classic English punk such as Sham 69, from whom guitars were sampled said [Pussy Riot founder Nadya] Tolokonnikova at one point, giggling. More recent singles “Police State” and “Bad Apples,” both featured Tuesday, demonstrate the act’s forceful evolution into agit-electro outfit, a DJ setup now replacing standard punk instrumentation.
As such, a deliberately overloaded P.A. system at the venue added to the tension, as Tolokonnikova and a loose cast of locally sourced Russian women performed in their trademark brightly colored tights and balaclava. Lighting frequently boiled down to a flashlight Tolokonnikova brandished, augmented by the rare strobes. The effect was akin to a terrorist interrogation.
As festivities closed with a Pussy Rioter waving that “PUSSY IS THE NEW DICK” flag, spirits were high and lives changed by a new generation’s punk heroines. The future of rebel rock isn’t rock & roll as we know it. It’s heavily distorted political techno.
Pussy Riot are doing that same show (or at least a similar one) in more North American cities this year, including Alabama’s Hangout Fest and Boston Calling. Before those, Pussy Riot will bring the show to NYC to play Brooklyn’s Elsewhere Hall on May 17. Tickets are on sale.
One show they’re not playing: a scheduled May 16 date in Israel that they canceled earlier this week. They offered no reason why but The Times of Israel reports that a local promoter cited “technical issues.” They will however be playing Berlin’s JVA Men’s Prison at some point in June. All dates are listed, along with a couple recent videos, below.
Pussy Riot – 2018 Tour Dates
5.17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elswhere Hall
5.18/20 – Gulf Shores, AL @ Hangout Festival
5.25/27 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling
June – Berlin, GER @ JVA Prison!! Men’s prison in the charlottenburg-norda
