“Punk is supposed to be inclusive,” Julie Evers said, recounting her motivation for organizing the Grrrls to the Front charity concert, inspired by the ‘90s feminist punk Riot Grrrl movement.
On Friday, March 27 at 8 p.m., students from the Five Colleges packed the Marsh House at Amherst College to watch the local bands Sapien Joyride, Film and Gender and Total Rêve perform.
To select the organizations that the show’s revenue would be donated to, Evers asked each band what causes they were passionate about raising money for. This allowed each band to carefully choose charities they felt a connection towards, whether they were specific to women or not.
The event raised roughly $1,500, with all donations going to Rosie’s Place, the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union. Rosie’s Place was the first shelter for women in the U.S. and now continues to serve as a multi-service community center, extending emergency shelter and food to women. The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides relief “to children throughout the Levant,” aiming to grant children in the Middle East access to medical and humanitarian aid.
The American Civil Liberties Union organization working to defend the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Through campaigns and initiatives, the ACLU works to protect individuals against urgent civil liberty issues.
Most of the sales came from the screen-printed shirts, but there were also homemade stickers and buttons, tarot card readings, another vendor’s prints and stickers and even a haircut that was raffled. All of those sales contributed to the total amount of funds raised. Free items including community-made zines and art enriched the creative atmosphere.
Suzanne Bagia
Moshing was expected to take place because it was a punk concert. But at this event, it was different than the usual, dangerous moshes at high-energy shows. Instead of being entirely male-dominated, it was openly welcoming to all genders. It was full of smiles and playful shoves, without any recklessness or aggression.
Mosh pits are an unsafe environment for women, especially with larger, aggressive men leading an unrestrained chaos. Evers was stricken inspired to plan this event after experiencing a concert where she felt women were left out of the punk scene.
She said that she “feel[s] like everyone should be able to go to these spaces and have a fun time and not be concerned with getting injured.”
Evers aimed to create an empowering, safe space for women to watch the band up close, free from harassment from men, and she certainly succeeded. While a tumble to the ground might have been inevitable, she cultivated a space that was safe enough that there was always someone to pick you right back up.
When coming up with the name of the event, Evers thought of the passionate cry of Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna: “All girls to the front!” During the height of the Riot Grrrl movement, Hanna encouraged women to move to the front of the crowd and discouraged men from violently moshing into them.
The first band that performed was Total Rêve, whose excited energy got the audience amped up for the night. With Hala Anderson on drums, Eleanor Gallay on vocals and rhythm, Nusche MacDonald on bass and Alex Herrera on lead guitar, the band played a mix of covers and original songs.
Total Rêve played the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” and The Beatles’ “Come Together” as well as their own songs, including “The Treachery of Fishes” and “Number One On The Waitlist.” They closed their set with a strong cover of “Cannonball” by The Breeders. The audience sang along throughout.
Suzanne Bagia
Afterwards, Film and Gender took the stage, with members Iss Manzi on bass and vocals and Emerson Mullane and Anthony Franco on percussion. They filled in for the band Sgraffito Kill with only a two-day notice, playing a setlist full of upbeat yet agony-filled songs.
Some of the crowd-pleasers Film and Gender played were “T4T,” “Fetishize Me,” “I Wish I Never Made You Cum” and “F.W.A.G.” Their fierceness was emulated by the crowd; people were either aggressively head-bobbing to the fast-paced rhythm or joining in the fun of the mosh pit.
Sapien Joyride, the final band that played, is composed of Georgia Walsh and Ivy Kovel on guitar, bass, and vocals and Anais (Annie) Richard on drums. Like Total Rêve, their setlist consisted of both their own songs and band covers. Their setlist included the raw, grungy “Animal” by Pearl Jam and a fan favorite, “Deceptacon” by Le Tigre.
Suzanne Bagia
“Mouse of great happiness and fortune,” “Josh,” and “Ocean creatures & Flying freaks” were among Sapien Joyride’s original songs. The band performed with immense theatricality and loudness, leaving the audience stuck in a trance. During their set, they announced for the girls to come to the front, reminding the audience what they were there for.
Annie Richard said that Sapien Joyride was interested in playing for the Riot Grrrl-themed concert because it was not male-focused like many of the bands in Western Massachusetts.
“I think it’s important to platform those bands that kind of highlight differences in our community,” Richard said, adding that raising money for causes further motivated the band’s presence.
The night of the Grrrls to the Front fundraiser concert was incredibly special for those who attended. Everyone got the chance to raise money for these charities and watch talented local punk-rock bands play in a safe, welcoming environment.
Jami Buteau can be reached at [email protected].
