Concert Review: Pinkshift at Empire Control Room
Pinkshift brought the “Forever” Tour to Empire Control Room in Austin, Texas on November 9, 2022.
Written by Audrey Vieira
Photos by Audrey Vieira
Weeks after releasing angsty debut album Love Me Forever, Baltimore punk trio Pinkshift brought its “Forever” tour to Austin on November 9th, performing its 17-song discography in full for a lively pit of fans at Empire Control Room.
While Pinkshift’s show took place at the multistage venue’s indoor Control Room, a lengthy line for another artist’s performance at Empire’s outdoor stage initially confused some fans. Thankfully, some proud Pinkshift fans wore merchandise from the band’s previous Austin performances to show their enthusiasm for the band as they waited for venue doors to open. Once inside the 350-capacity Control Room, many gathered at the bar or made purchases at the merch table before heading towards the stage.
By the time opening acts Spontaneous and Jigsaw Youth began their performances at 7:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., respectively, the crowd was already eager to mosh. Attendees excitedly slammed into each other during originals and covers throughout the openers' sets — forming a circle pit as Spontaneous covered Taylor Swift classic “The Story of Us” and later jumping up and down to the distorted guitar on Jigsaw Youth’s latest single “Skin” — but made sure to look out for one another as they did so. The energy during these opening sets was just as high as the anticipation for the headlining performance.
The members of Pinkshift took the stage at 9:15 p.m., kicking off their 90-minute set with an extended version of their 2021 song “Toro.” Vocalist Ashrita Kumar then greeted the crowd by quoting an infamous sorority recruitment video filmed in Austin. “We’ve been waiting for you all summer and we’re so glad you’re finally here!” they said before launching into Love Me Forever singles “GET OUT” and “i’m not crying you’re crying.” Both tracks elicited cheers from the crowd, demonstrating that the feeling was mutual.
The moment guitarist Paul Vallejo played the opening riff of the record’s lead single “nothing (in my head),” the pit was active and alive. However, moshers briefly paused their pandemonium when he dramatically fell to the ground towards the end of the song. Gasps were audible as audience members wondered whether the death drop was intentional or if Vallejo had collapsed onstage. Thankfully, touring bassist Michael Stabekis assured the concerned crowd that it was the former, saying, “It’s a bit!” Once Vallejo rose, Kumar convinced fans to sing “Happy Birthday” to him despite the fact that his actual birthday was weeks prior to the Austin show.
Kumar quickly followed this joyful moment with comparably unhappier material, introducing the cynical “cherry (we’re all gonna die)” by asking fans, “Anyways, do you all think we’re gonna die?" Among the responses were resounding cheers, prompting Kumar to call Austin the “most pessimistic” crowd since their D.C. tour date. The crowd’s sardonic negativity was fitting considering Pinkshift’s performance took place less than 24 hours after Texas governor Greg Abbott was re-elected to a third term — later into the set, Kumar shouted “Fuck Greg Abbott!” prompting another round of cheers.
However, the crowd dialed down the noise when a keyboard was brought onto the stage for the vulnerable ballad “in a breath.” Kumar sang the heart-wrenching track and played the keyboard accompaniment alone as their bandmates watched from the sidelines. The band’s pink backdrop faded into royal blue over the course of the performance; smoke surrounding the vocalist while they poured their heart out to the audience. After the ballad’s conclusion, Kumar hugged each of their bandmates and spoke about how they wrote “in a breath” years before Pinkshift existed, recounting how the song brought them comfort prior to its official release.
After taking the keyboard offstage, the blue backdrop became a vibrant shade of purple and the Pinkshift logo reappeared for the full band to perform the fiery track “Cinderella” and viral single “i’m gonna tell my therapist on you.” “This is the part where we all get to scream!” Kumar said while introducing the latter. Audience members did so loudly and fervently, making for a cathartic moment during the band’s most streamed song.
This catharsis continued during the band’s performance of angsty, anthemic “the kids aren’t alright.” As Vallejo began to play the track’s opening riff, Kumar encouraged audience participation with a passionate game of call and response. Each time they repeated the line, “I don’t want your fake obsession,” fans responded by shouting, “I need something real to change!”
But perhaps the greatest instance of audience participation was when Kumar called on “the girlies” to start a femmes-only mosh pit during “let me drown.” Not only did “the girlies” heartily oblige, their pit was one of the greatest and most intense of the night. The “girlie pit,” as Kumar lovingly dubbed it, raged for the entirety of the song’s two minute runtime, stopping briefly to help a participant find their lost phone before resuming once the device was found. It was an exhilarating experience for most participants, though some men were disappointed to be excluded from a space for once. After “let me drown” ended, one audience member asked, “Can the boys go back in the pit?” eliciting a few boos from “the girlies,” but Kumar graciously allowed men to mosh once more as Pinkshift closed out its set with Love Me Forever’s title track.
When Pinkshift’s set came to an end, the audience members demanded an encore. Their wishes for “one more song!” were granted when the band returned for two more songs, as well as some musical improv courtesy of Vallejo and drummer Myron Houngbedji. The band teased the crowd with a My Chemical Romance cover, playing the opening riff and percussion part to “I’m Not Okay” before ending the night with their 2021 originals “On Thin Ice” and “Rainwalk.” When the encore ended, Pinkshift left the stage for the last time, but the crowd remained energetic and enthusiastic until the house music began playing.
Pinkshift’s members gave everything at their Austin show, playing their entire discography and going above and beyond to create an exhilarating experience for their fans. The memory of this performance will definitely be loved forever.