On Tuesday September 27th, the night was young and a large group lined up at the New Parish 15 minutes before doors in anticipation of the Viagra Boys show. The opening acts were socal based band Militarie Gun and Shame, a frontrunner in the British Post-punk scene at the moment. In line, my friends and I immediately took notice of the mostly white male crowd that was waiting in line with us. Though this is pretty typical for a post-punk show there are usually a few other women and people of color in the crowd as well, I expected they would show up later in the night closer to when Shame began to play. 

In line, I took notice of the woman in front of us in line. She took off her sweater and I caught a glimpse of her tattoo sleeves. I decided to ask if she was a fan of punk concerts. Her name was Belinda and it turned out she knew the lead singer of Viagra Boys and was good friends with his parents, who came out to say hi to Belinda. The interaction was lovely and made me even more excited for the show to begin. 

The doors opened and the crowd flooded into the intimate venue. A good majority of the crowd opted for the upper level instead of the pit, which made sense for the crowd that was mostly made up of older people. I decided to stay in the pit for the two opening acts. 


 Military Gun, the first opener of the night, though young, possessed a lot of potential. Their set was fast paced and though the audience was only beginning to come in, it was good head-banging music that even the older crowd seemed to enjoy.

Following the first opener, the second of the two opening bands, Shame, took the stage. The lead singer donned a cowboy hat and a button up –classic American staples, in honor of the young lads fresh arrival to the United States. The lights remained a warm tone throughout the night with red setting the mood. During more intense moments in the set beams of white light shone, which added to the intensity. Lead singer Eddie Green maintained good interactions with the audience, speaking to them and at one point acknowledging the “old motherfuckers”. The final song “Snow Day” was the stand out of the night. The sound was lush and blaring, Green and the rest of the band played this extra loud. Everyone got lost in the music, even the older crowd who banged their heads for most of the night. It was a grand end and beginning.

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Once the music was over, reality set in. My friend had left the pit before Shame came back. The audience was stifling. There were some unpleasant people in the crowd that soured the night. I turned around and noticed the crowd was still filled with white people. Throughout the night I took note of only about 5 people of color in the crowd. I began to feel uncomfortable during the setup, but soon after I saw Belinda and she introduced us to her son, Sam. Sam told us he inspired the Viagra Boys song, “Sports,” which honestly did track. Sam was wearing a cap and drinking a beer. At this point the pit was entirely filled with mostly white men so we bid farewell to Belinda and looked for a spot where we could feel comfortable.

Viagra Boys’ presence could be felt before they walked out on stage. The Lights were a darker blue color and beer cans were set up near each of their instruments. Each member came out and they all donned different clothes, but in a way they all exuded a similar energy that pumped up the audience nonetheless. Lead singer Sebastian Murphy walked out shirtless and covered in tattoos, big sunglasses on. Given the nature of their music (criticism on hyper-masculinity) it made a lot of sense. Bassist Henrik Höckert walked out in a tracksuit, very casual but once again, it worked. The band fit together very well and the chemistry on stage was undeniable. The movement in the pit was intense, the audience was very devoted to the band. This was confirmed once Murphy began to interact with the audience.

 The pit was restless now. Then finally the first song of the set “Ain’t No Thief” plays. The music is superb, Viagra Boys do not miss a beat, but their fans unfortunately do. In the pit I take notice of the lack of moshing once again, there seems to only be shoving in the crowd, definitely not for the faint of heart. 

The opening song was followed by “Ain’t Nice” and saxophonist Oscar Carls and Keyboardist Elias Jungqvist absolutely killed. The energy was at a constant high. The third song “Troglodyte” was one of my personal favorites. Murphy delivered a punch of energy, perpetually sipping on a beer but still giving a performance the audience would not forget. By the end of “Punk Rock Loser” Murphy wiggled around the New Parish floor. 

The closing song of the night, “Shrimp Shack,” was an auditory treat. Murphy’s rough vocals illuminated the crowd. The song began with a consistent beat but eventually turned into something rhythmically complex as most of their songs do. 

Murphy and Carls definitely garnered most of the attention at the beginning of the song. Murphy carelessly swayed around intently to the music. Then what followed next was melodic complexities in the music. The song is chaotic but the crowd still managed to sway around in the pit. Unfortunately getting into the pit at this point as a 5’2 woman was impossible. It was disappointing, the pit looked like a good time — for white men.

 

Viagra Boys are incredible performers. I had a great time listening to their set, but the predominantly white male audience tainted the experience. I never truly felt comfortable. I constantly changed locations — if I did not have friends with me I might have even left earlier. 

Punk is an awesome genre, but unfortunately, it is still dominated by a mostly male audience. Ironically a lot of the audience was the type of hyper-masculine man that the songs were about. I would love to experience a Viagra Boys show in a more welcoming space, but this was not the occasion.

 

Photos by: Itzel Diaz

Written by: Sabrina Herrera

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