I Just Read About That…

[DID NOT ATTEND: January 25, 2025] Control Top / Dark Thoughts / Mopar Stars / Money Nicca / Nina Ryser / Noun / Pinkwash

I bought a ticket to this show primarily for Control Top.  And I added an extra donation because I felt the cause was really important.  And then I grabbed tickets to Soccer Mommy which was a show that was easier for me to get to.

Ground Control Touring’s 3rd Annual Abortion Access Benefit Series takes place in NYC, LA, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, DC, Austin, and Raleigh on January 25, 2025! Visit their website to see the variety of bands at each show and specific event details! 100% of proceeds from all shows are donated directly to NOISE FOR NOW who will allocate the funds raised to local abortion funds in need. You can also text GCT to 53-555 if you can’t make it out but would still like to donate.

Proceeds support: Abortion Liberation Fund of PA, Access Reproductive Care – Southeast, ACCESS Reproductive Justice, The Afiya Center’s SYS Fund, Baby2Baby’s Disaster Relief and Emergency Response, Carolina Abortion Fund, DC Abortion Fund, Feminist Women’s Health Center, Lilith Fund, Midwest Access Coalition, New York Abortion Access Fund, Northwest Abortion Access Fund, and independent abortion clinics in California, DC, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, the Pacific Northwest and Pennsylvania via Keep Our Clinics.

And here’s the blurb from Johnny Brenda’s

Ground Control Touring is thrilled to announce they’re teaming up for the third year with NOISE FOR NOW, a non-profit specializing in reproductive justice, to take action and bring awareness with its third annual Abortion Access Benefit Series. The series has expanded to take over EIGHT cities, coinciding on Saturday, January 25th, 2025 – Los Angeles at Lodge Room, New York City at Bowery Ballroom, Chicago at Sleeping Village, Atlanta at The Masquerade (Purgatory), Philadelphia at Johnny Brenda’s, Austin at Hotel Vegas, DC at Songbyrd, and Raleigh at Kings. Since its inception in 2023, the Abortion Access Benefit Series has raised over $110,000 via eight completely sold out nationwide events, with performances by nearly 100 artists and silent auction bundles provided by dozens of community sponsors and local businesses.
Each benefit show will feature a special night of music and festivities in support of abortion funds, community, and bodily autonomy. 100% of proceeds will go to NOISE FOR NOW who will then allocate the funds raised to local independent abortion clinics and abortion funds in each region.
More about NOISE FOR NOW: NOISE FOR NOW is a national initiative that enables artists and entertainers to connect with and financially support grassroots organizations that work in the field of Reproductive Justice, including abortion access. Reproductive health care services, including access to legal abortion, are under attack. By organizing benefit events and campaigns, NOISE FOR NOW provides opportunities for artists and entertainers to use their talent to raise money and send a clear message that Reproductive Rights are human rights. Since their inaugural benefit concert in 2017, NOISE FOR NOW has worked with over 450 artists and entertainers to raise $1.36M for 54 partner organizations. In 2023, NOISE FOR NOW established a record label and has released 3 benefit compilations, 2 of which are streaming on all digital platforms.

The night was hosted by Rachel Fogletto, a Philadelphia-based stand-up comedian.  And the between band music was supplied by Money Nicca (Soul Glo vocalist Pierce Jordan)

I’m assuming the bands went in this order, but I can’t imagine how all of these bands played in one night!

Back in 2020, Pinkwash was supposed to open for Control Top, but the show was cancelled due to COVID.  Back then I wrote

I had not heard of Pinkwash, but when I looked them up I was immediately intrigued.  Pinkwashing is the LGBT variation of whitewashing stories.  They are a duo based in Philly and they play loud fast punk with powerful lyrics.  I hope I get to see them someday.

Noun is the solo musical project of ex-Screaming Females lead guitar player Marissa Paternoster.  I thought that she started this band when she left Screaming Females.  But I see that she started recording as Noun in 2004, so it’s always been in her back pocket.  Stereogum says of the new Noun, a duo with multi-instrumentalist and longtime collaborator Phillip Price, of Kayo Dot and Moor Jewelry:

If you know Paternoster’s big howl and bigger riffs from Screaming Females, then you’ll be happy to hear them back again on these tracks. But the songs are a little more complex than what Paternoster made with her old band, and it’s cool hearing her integrating a few electronic sounds into her attack.

In 2022, I saw Nina Ryser open for Tropical Fuck Storm.

Like the rest of her Palbertans, Ryser is a prolific songwriter who is classically trained but who likes to push the boundaries of what music should do. The set sounded improvised, but I’m sure it wasn’t.  Most of the songs were built around a beat and a simple chord pattern.  There was a droney component to it and Nina’s vocals were kind of deadpan.

I didn’t know Mopar Stars

They play a mix of ’90s alt pop, indie rock and power pop that checks most of the boxes I look for in music: strong melodies, energetic, scrappy, great guitar work, songs that somehow get better with each additional play.

They are a mix of musicians from other Philly bands like Zorn and Sheer Mag, but they aim for a mix of “’90s big riff indie rock and the more straight forward pop stylings of UK power pop.”

I saw Dark Thoughts open for Sheer Mag back in 2017.

Dark Thoughts are a Philly band who play really melodic and fast punk.  They remind me (and a lot of other people) of the Ramones, but there’s a kind of British punk sound in the vocals and an overall poppiness that really belies their name (although their song titles are pretty nihilistic).

I’ve seen Control Top twice and I really want to see them again.  I missed them recently at Foto Club.  This show probably wouldn’t have been the best show to see them specifically as their set was probably short.  But I’m sure they would have been really intense and fantastic.  I do hope to see them again.