The Linda Lindas Prove That Youth Is Still King At Chicago's Metro

If there's one thing my regular readers know (yes, both of you), it's that I don't shy away from my age when writing. A lot of the time it's to make a self-deprecating joke, but in reality age and music have always been intertwined. For most of us, our taste in music evolves and changes as we age. Personally I find it a struggle to consume as much new music as I did in my mid-20's despite the fact that all of the music in recorded human history has never been more available to me through almost every device I interact with on a daily basis.

It's not that good music isn't continuing to be released. But I'm over 40 years old. I know what I like, and there's a shit ton of it. Every time I want to listen to music, I can try something new and potentially not care for it, or I can slip into some albums that not only do I already know I love, but also have the unfair advantage of being associated with formative years of my life. How is the new release by Sevendust supposed to compete on that totally biased and completely uneven playing field?

(SIDE NOTE: Sevendust's most recent album, 2023's Truth Killer was actually really great and I only used them as an example to remind anyone that hasn't given it a shot yet that it totally kicks ass.)

And despite the fact that bands like The Rolling Stones and the Eagles are still around and the Green Days and Offsprings of the world are celebrating 30 year anniversaries of their breakthrough albums, popular music is still a young person's game. Writing, rehearsals, recording, touring, living in a van, media appearances...who has the energy for all that? Young people, that's who.

And there's not many bands with a rising profile younger than the Linda Lindas. The Los Angeles quartet range in age from 14-20. Yes, none of them are legally allowed to drink in any of the venues they tour. And while their age may be what grabs a lot of peoples attention, it wouldn't mean anything if they couldn't play. Fortunately, we now have two full-length albums to judge them by (2023's Growing Up and 2024's No Obligation) and man, can these kids play. Injecting modern life and energy into the classic riot grrrl style, The Linda Lindas brought the No Obligation Tour to Chicago's Metro for a sold out show alongside Pinkshift and adan diaz.

Opening act adan diaz seems cut from the same cloth as someone like Games We Play, specializing in songs about the mundane details of the average person's day to day life. But he does it in a way that's incredibly catchy and easy to consume. Kicking off his set with 'jerk x2' off his most recent release (last year's ah-dawn EP), diaz jumped and sing-talked his way through a set stuffed to the brim with 2-3 minute bite-sized song snacks. He gets in, gets to the point, and moves on to the next feeling. It's a rapid fire style that keeps the audience on its toes and covers maximum emotional ground in a minimum amount of time.

If it's one thing the world is in desperate need of, it's more Pinkshift. An incredibly diverse band who seem just as comfortable bringing the sociopolitical fight to your doorstep as they do bringing it onstage with them, Baltimore's Pinkshift has never done anything halfway and wear their feelings on their sleeves. For a recent example of this, look no further than their most recent release, last October's 'ONE NATION'. Dropping a week before the US elections, it's a scathing political reminder that while things may be getting worse for all of us, there are so many marginalized groups that have had the boot of the government on their necks for much longer that have been more than ready to fight back while everyone else is still shocked and dazed.

The other way we need more Pinkshift is in the more traditional sense...more music! Because just like with age, your message doesn't go far if you can't play, and Pinkshift can absolutely rip. But in the studio, they've only ripped up a total of one full-length album and a handful of singles and EPs. And yes, as someone that has written a whopping ZERO songs in my life, I know how ridiculous it is for me to point that out, but it's just to show how little Pinkshift we actually have as a society compared to our collective appetite for the band.

So while they didn't have a new album to tour behind on this stop, any Pinkshift is way better than none, something that the sold out Metro crowd seemed to be in total agreement on, launching into a massive sea of moving bodies and sound as the band launched into their opening song, the aforementioned 'ONE NATION' and continuing through a set that turned a surprisingly chilly Sunday night into one big sweaty movement. With the headliners attracting such a young crowd, he all-ages circle pit that formed during Pinkshift's unreleased track 'Evil Eye' was as wholesome as it was frenetic. Kicking ass with both their music and their message, Pinkshift is exactly the kind of band that the youth of the nation needs to be exposed to as early as possible.

One of the best things about The Linda Lindas is their consistency. This was actually the third time I've seen the band. The first time was at Riot Fest here in Chicago back in 2022 on a massive festival stage. The second was last summer at Wrigley Field opening for Green Day, another massive stage at a baseball stadium. To say that seeing them at the 1,100 capacity Metro was a bit different of an experience would be an understatement. But that didn't seem to matter to the band at all. If anything, they had more energy onstage at our packed theater than they did in either previous show that was 10x+ the capacity. And even saying that feels like an understatement. Every uptempo song they played seemed like they faced it as a challenge to see who could get the most steps in on their Fitbit before it ended. The ringleader of this chaotic musical circus is bassist/vocalist Eloise Wong, who only stood still because the mic stand didn't have wheels. Wong bounced around the stage constantly, like a human ping pong ball being volleyed between guitarists/vocalists Bela Salazar and Lucia de la Garza for basically the entire 19 song set they managed to cram into their time onstage. Tying things together perfectly, raging behind the kit when needed and acting as a guiding metronome amongst the onstage chaos, is drummer/vocalist Mila de la Garza (yes, sister of Lucia).

Another positive about a band as youthful as The Linda Lindas is that they bring out an even more youthful crowd. Moreso than any other show I've seen at the Metro, there was a sizable under 15 crowd, with a lot of groups that seemed like parents bringing multiple kids to the show. And these kids knew exactly what to do, moshing and screaming back the lyrics to songs like seasoned concert veterans. And that kind of feedback seemed to only push the band's energy up another level, with songs like 'No Obligation' 'Too Many Things' and even the midtempo 'All In My Head' being shredded at levels above and beyond their studio recordings.

Alas, the downside of such a youthful movement eventually reared its ugly head. The bane of every all-ages show: the curfew. Despite barely any breaks between songs all night, the band wasn't able to get through their entire setlist. But as a closing treat, they brought out both adan diaz and Pinkshift to tear through the set's closer, a cover of Bikini Kill's 'Rebel Girl'.

The No Obligation Tour continues in the US through April 23 with select overseas dates after that. Dates and tickets can be found here.

The Linda Lindas Setlist - The Metro, Chicago 4.13.25

No Obligation
Resolution/Revolution
Too Many Things
Once Upon a Time
Found a Job (Talking Heads cover)
Growing Up
Tren al sur (Los Prisoneros cover)
Cartographers
Yo me estreso
Don't Think
Cuántas veces
Nothing Would Change
Lose Yourself
Excuse Me
Nine
Oh!
Racist, Sexist Boy
All in My Head
Rebel Girl (Bikini Kill cover)