Philly’s Mannequin Pussy have been working hard for years, moving up from opening slots for Japanese Breakfast in 2017 to headlining the 150-capacity DC9 in 2019 to now two sold-out nights at the 450-capacity Atlantis in DC. It’s a testament to their intensely personal, relatable songwriting (“I still love you, you stupid fuck” from 2019’s “Drunk II”) and unforgettable stage presence. Singer/guitarist Marisa Dabice and company have fostered a fervent following that understands that music is personal and political, and there’s no untangling those two from one another.

There was no need to warm the crowd up – the explosive Philadelphia band Soul Glo, no strangers to huge crowds of their own, opened up the pit with their unique combination of metal, hip-hop, and hardcore punk. While there were some in the crowd that gladly obliged, the crowd didn’t go quite as off as their own headlining shows do. Still, though, there was no doubt that they wowed the crowd with their impeccable energy and booming guitars, especially during their set closer “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?).”

Mannequin Pussy took the stage and launched into “I Don’t Know You.” It only took minutes for the crowd to jump in unison, causing the floor to shake up and down underneath everyone’s feet. Dabice is an impeccable performer, baring every emotion in her many expressions – pained, rage, excited, gleeful, and everything in between.

Dabice also understands that volume is a powerful weapon – both in its loud forms and quiet. Dabice spoke to the crowd in a hushed, ASMR-like whisper throughout the night as low bass synths gave an ambient, haunting texture to her words. But when she truly wanted the crowd to take home an important lesson or thought, she made sure her voice boomed louder than anything else in the room. She spoke against religion being used as a cudgel of hatred (see “I Got Heaven”) and against the Israel-Hamas War and the devastating effect on the Palestinian population.

Near the end of the set, she gave a speech that resonated with many in the crowd: “You have this pit inside you, where you have been forced to shove down everything painful you’ve experienced in your life. Society has no time for our anger, no time for our pain – there’s money to be made for someone else, so you better get to fucking work,” she said in a deeply sarcastic tone. Increasing the volume of her voice (and the rage in it too), she continued: “They try to tell you that anger is infantilizing, but the anger fucking grows, and we’re forced to shove it down. You’re not crazy for feeling all the time like you just want to scream.” And a minute later, she led the room in letting out an ear-piercingly loud scream, one that then immediately launched into their set closer, the mosh pit-inducing “OK? OK! OK? OK!”

Dabice’s ability to whip up a crowd with stirring lyrics and unwavering conviction of having a more just, equitable world is just one of the many reasons why she and the rest of Mannequin Pussy have truly fostered a positive community, one of politically-minded, no-fucks-given fans that will follow them to the ends of the earth.

Mannequin Pussy’s album, I Got Heaven, is out now on Epitaph. Soul Glo’s latest album, Diaspora Problems, was released in 2022 on Epitaph, and new music is on the way.