Scene Queen Gets Metalicious in Lawrence, Kansas
Written by: Ann Wallsmith
What better way is there to start a concert set than singing about chipping your nails because you beat up on a man? For Scene Queen, it’s the only way to start a set.
Scene Queen performed at The Granada in Lawrence, KS to a high energy crowd as part of her Metalicious Tour, named after the title of her newest EP released earlier this month.
(It was specifically released on 9/11, a decision by Scene Queen’s label that led to many jokes of a questionable nature.)
If you’re not familiar with Scene Queen, she’s a rocker whose style fuses metalcore and feminism - a style that she has coined ‘bimbocore.’ It’s her approach to addressing (or dare I say attacking) the misogyny and abuse that is particularly prevalent in the music scene.
She sings - and screams - on themes that empower female and non-binary sexuality while ripping apart the idea that for women to be respected in the scene, they need to let go of things that make them girlie and soft. In short, she tears down men and uplifts everyone else.
The show featured all of the elements that have come to be ubiquitous during a Scene Queen performance - shaking ass, twerkle pits (it is as it sounds: a circle pit where everyone is throwing it back), and shouting about cutting off male genitalia.
You might not expect a great turnout at a college town on the outskirts of the Kansas City metro, but the room was packed with fans - many of them dripped out in pink to match Scene Queen’s iconic look. The crowd had such great energy that Scene Queen told them they “made her feel like Taylor Swift” because of how loud everyone was singing her lyrics back at her.
One reason there was such a great crowd with such amazing energy was because Lawrence is a safe haven for the LGBTQIA+ community, just like Scene Queen herself. You’ll see how true that is if you listen to Scene Queen’s discography. Similarly, you’ll see how much of a safe space she is NOT for misogynists, bigots, and general dickheads, and the set list for this tour provides a great mix of songs covering all the above.
While officially the tour was a celebration of the Metalicious EP, the set list was a compilation of Scene Queen’s music from throughout her career, including major hits like “Pink Rover” and “Barbie and Ken,” a track that she originally recorded with Set It Off’s Cody Carson but is performing it on tour with her guitarist Dan (whose solo work as boyhero is something I definitely recommend you check out).
There was also plenty of lady love, with “Finger,” and “Pink Panther,” and odes to feminine sexuality like “Pink G-String” and “MILF.”
Sprinkled throughout the set were some of her more scathing tracks such as “Pink Barbie Band-Aid,” a hate letter to the current POTUS, and “Mutual Masterbation,” a song which pokes fun of band bros who can’t get over the fact that there’s a woman in the line up. And she of course ended the set with perhaps her biggest hit, “18+,” an incredibly catchy condemnation of predatory behavior.
Midway through her set, she brought a few lucky fans on stage to be inducted into her faux sorority Bimbo Beta Pi. She was mildly alarmed by learning that one of the lucky fans was celebrating her 12th birthday at her show, and that all three were fairly young. She thanked them for being there and asked them not to listen to her music anymore until they’re a little older.
However, the promises of the “sorority” induction were applicable to all ages. Those promises basically boiled down to being a friend to those who need one at concerts. A vow that anyone would be hard-pressed to take issue with.
So while Scene Queen’s music can tend toward the confrontational and in-your-face, it comes from a place of love and wanting to build a sense of belonging that she didn’t feel growing up in the music scene.
If you want to experience that sense of belonging, she’s got plenty of stops left on her Metalicious tour. So grab a ticket, throw on some pink, and get ready to rock out with your tits out.
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