LIVE REVIEW: Scene Queen @ O2 Ritz, Manchester

Anyone unaware of the upcoming show at o2 Ritz might be a little confused when walking past the long line of attendees. On the one hand, given the alternative style the majority are wearing, it’s clear that it’s a rock show, yet the same people in line have another thing in common: pink. Pink clothing, pink make-up, pink feather boas, any pink accessory that you could imagine existing ever; every person is decked out in the colour in one way or another. The reason why? SCENE QUEEN is in town.

SCENE QUEEN herself is one of several artists in the last few years who’s gone to show that when it comes to metal there are truly no rules or limitations on what you can do. Whether it’s genre blending, personal styling, or even lyrical content, anything goes and, frankly, doing what you want without a care is the most metal thing anyone can do.  And in this case, SCENE QUEEN is all about being unapologetically yourself as you embrace your sexuality, being feminine and ‘girly’, whilst also being loud and angry at the patriarchy and injustices of the world. It’s a little wonder why this show quickly sold out.

The first of tonight’s opening acts are rising British duo LAKE MALICE, who start their set with an ethereal spoken word intro before immediately kicking off into their metalcore meets electro pop-rock style where little time is wasted in bringing the energy. From start to finish, the crowd was eager to fulfil their requests for circle pits as they navigated through their loud set, (so loud in fact that the sound system struggled), with personal songs relating to finding yourself, navigating anxiety, as well as the obligatory angry song towards those who have done you wrong. By the end, there’s no question as to why they’re quickly becoming popular.

Rating: 8/10

Following this up is fellow Brit GIRLI, who, at first, appears laidback with her style of bouncy pop-rock meets 80s electronic synths, yet she quickly demonstrates as to why she’s on this line-up with her confident stage presence as she performs songs relating to personal experiences of owning her sexuality. While it’s maybe not as loud as the previous act, it’s still a fun time as the crowd danced and sang along to lyrics about navigating life as a queer person, as well as more angrier moments towards transphobia and bigotry in general. Cool and confident, GIRLI truly owned the stage.

Rating: 8/10

And now onto the queen herself. Anyone who goes to a SCENE QUEEN show knows that nothing can start without the intro song of AQUA’s Barbie Girl, only this time things get chaotic as the song is suddenly sped up before the set officially kicks off with BDSM, with the opening line of, “You can’t do that!” serving as a mock response by some who have a problem with the way things work around here. In the fact the song in general is a tongue in cheek response to anyone who has a problem with the way that things are unashamedly pink and feminine in every way possible, and honestly, the crowd seems to agree with the way they loudly sing back.

That loudness never once dies down throughout the night, as shown when SCENE QUEEN immediately moves into the angry Pink Push-Up Bra where the crowd is more than eager to shout back the words whether in terms of solidarity or own personal experience, everyone has their own reasons for singing along tonight. Yet we are quickly reminded that the reason we’re here isn’t solely to be angry, as SCENE QUEEN points out with announcing the first four songs of the set being about “bad bitches” before kicking off the explicitly catchy Finger. And on a side note, there’s something beautiful about happily singing along to these types of songs with fellow fans without a care in the world, whereas in any other situation you’d be more likely blushing.

Another thing we’re reminded of is how SCENE QUEEN is a representation of finding your own community and making new friends, a fact she recounts from telling two different stories. One being about someone from a conservative town in America going to metal gigs where she knew no one there and felt that she didn’t fit in, something she wanted to avoid when it came to her own shows and fanbase which is why she created her own sorority called Bimbo Beta Pi where we were all promptly initiated…we swear we aren’t a cult. The other story is a sweeter one about three people who met at her first Birmingham show in 2022 and how two of them have now gotten married, going to show how some the best people you’ll ever meet are at shows.

We were also treated to the performance of her newest single, Platform Shoes, a disco infused metal song that is a tongue in cheek call out for men who are clearly being too loud as over-compensation for their short stature. Strangely, even though the stage is decorated with blow-up disco balls after SCENE QUEEN had announced this summer to be a disco one, we didn’t get to hear the single that started it all, L-Shaped Couch.

And, of course, we can’t talk about a SCENE QUEEN show without mentioning the loud singalongs of tracks like Barbie And Ken, Pink Rover, and Pink Hotel to name a few which resulted in a steady stream of crowd surfers and endless finger pointing. And as a side note, there’s something amazing about hearing a sold-out crowd happily sing the line, “Gays with ADHD, listen to me,” and then following the instructions given in Pink G-String to, “Twerk in the circle pit”, the very same lines that caused animosity online a few years back. We truly have progressed as a society here.

To close the show we had the controversial, yet important, 18+ that was introduced by a recorded statement by SCENE QUEEN’s lawyer in that she can’t namedrop the artist in reference to the now iconic, “The allegations that have been made against a member of *beep beep beep*”, line…but we, as the audience, are certainly allowed to name who comes to mind. And whilst we can’t list the names that were shouted, if you’re someone who gets offended by a certain name, in the words of SCENE QUEEN, “If the shoe fits, shove it up your ass.”

As we previously established, being unafraid to do things as you want in the style you want is the most metal thing anyone can do. And SCENE QUEEN is the very embodiment of that.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Manchester from Sabrina Ramdoyal Photography here:

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