“This is a fake concert,” Nadezhda Tolokonnikova told the crowd gathered at the Doug Fir last night for the second of Pussy Riot’s two sold-out Portland shows. “It’s more like a political rally.”
Tolokonnikova’s declaration should’ve come as no surprise, though—the Russian group self-describes as a “fake band,” and billed their current US tour as “live music performance art.” Since making international headlines in 2012 for their “Punk Prayer” demonstration, Pussy Riot has always been a protest collective disguised as a punk band, using abrasive music as a medium for their messages of anti-fascist resistance.
Pussy Riot invited members from two local groups to speak at the beginning of last night’s “fake concert”: Socialist Alternative Portland, who urged the audience to organize and rally against capitalism, and the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, who denounced Israel’s “apartheid-like” treatment of Palestine—a bold move, considering the fact that Pussy Riot just announced an upcoming show in Tel Aviv.
Tolokonnikova and her band mate took the stage wearing their signature balaclavas, switching between English and Russian as they sang/rapped over electro-punk beats to an enthusiastic audience. They projected the group’s music videos and intense, flashing visuals throughout the performance, which was punctuated by convulsive dance interludes.
A few highlights: “Elections,” which criticizes their home country’s corrupt government; “Bad Apples,” the anti-police brutality anthem that includes the choice lyrics “Bad apples are good for something/When they’re six feet underground”; “Make America Great Again,” released prior to the election of Donald Trump, who lost the popular vote by 2,864,974 votes; and “Straight Outta Vagina,” which is probably the band’s catchiest song, but centers on some cis-sexist feminist rhetoric that essentializes the vagina and excludes trans women (this really hit home when Pussy Riot closed out their set by jumping around the stage while waving a flag emblazoned with the words “pussy is the new dick”).
It’s a huge deal that Pussy Riot played Portland—Tolokonnikova spent two years in a Russian prison under terrible conditions for speaking out against injustice, and the collective mobilized a worldwide spirit of resistance that will go down in history. But between the DSA’s critique of their decision to play Israel (even after so many artists, most recently Lorde, have cancelled or boycotted concerts there) and that unfortunate flag, Pussy Riot’s show felt energizing, but with some clear blind spots in their radicalness.
More photos after the jump!
