Photo Gallery: Mannequin Pussy at Thalia Hall • Chicago

Brassneck | April 11, 2024

Mannequin Pussy

Thalia Hall

Chicago, IL

April 10, 2024

Recap and photos by Curt Baran

Mannequin Pussy is on an absolute tear! After more than a decade together that has yielded four albums and an EP, the Philadelphia four-piece is arguably peaking. Their 2024 release, I Got Heaven, and its subsequent tour, brought them to a sold out Thalia Hall for their performance in Pilsen.

Already revered as a fiery live band, their execution of new and old material on a beautiful spring evening seemed to hint at a band that is suddenly poised to up the ante in both stature and reach.

Although lead singer Marisa Dabice has always been the focal point of their live performances, she has noticeably matured into the perfect vehicle for delivering their brand of punk rock fury and, when necessary, quiet introspection. Adorned in what looked like a vintage bride maids dress, Dabice inhabited every song with powerful vocals and contorting movements that oscillated from ballerina grace one moment to swirling dervish the next.

And behind her lurked a band that voluminously answered every wrist snap and knee drop with crushing intensity, or, when called for, hushed restraint. It was all a perfect marriage of trench experience and the confidence that accompanies a group that has just delivered its finest recorded document to date. If the rapturous response from fans (and a merch line worthy of idol worship) is any sort of barometer, everyone present was acutely aware of the tectonic shift.