If they’re coming for trans rights, they’re coming for your rights – Lambrini Girls prove that punk still is very much a protest

It was a memorable Thursday – Thursday before the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, but also Thursday after the infamous Wednesday when the Supreme Court ruled on the biological definition of a woman which sent shock waves among women and especially the trans community. A Lambrini Girls gig was the perfect place to be that night – Electric Brixton was filling up with the most inclusive community I’ve seen in a long time. Upon entry, something shiny caught my eye on the merch table – a bedazzled crop top with the words ‘FUCK TERFS’ across the chest (I’ll let you guess whether it instantly became my prized possession, I’ll give you a hint – the answer begins with a ‘Y’) and that set the tone for the evening.

The first to open for Lambrini Girls were Goodbye. The Brighton relative newcomers (although each member will be familiar to the Brighton scene from their previous projects) eased us into the night with their shoeagaze inspired alt-rock. I remarked with a friend that it was a surprising opener considering their slow, poised, measured sound – stark contrast to what was to come. But a gentle start was what we needed and Goodbye delivered a beautiful set, mentioning from the stage that this was their most significant gig to date because Lambrini Girls are ‘the most important band of our generation’ – a sentiment echoed amongst the crowd.

Hailing from further away were the next act of the night – M(h)aol (pronounced ‘male’), the post-punk pirates of feminism from Ireland. Their set design gained a few colours as they decorated the cabs with Irish flags and Jamie Hyland, the band’s bassist, came out wearing the trans flag as a second skirt, tapping into the undercurrent of the night. They instantly won the crowd over with seemingly countless songs about dead dogs – but their standout was ‘Laundries’ about the history of Magdalene Laundries in Ireland. Their sound is dirty, grungy and feisty, and very on the nose. The song ‘E8/N16’ was introduced as ‘a list of generic boy’s names from the London postcodes on Hinge – if you hear your name raise your hand and, I don’t know, form a support group’. They remind me of Wet Leg and Dry Cleaning. Their new album is coming out in May with a launch show at The George Tavern – don’t miss them.

Before our headliners came on, I chatted with a few people in the front row who were simply bursting with anticipation. One fan was donning a GoPro on their head, while another was about to see them for the fourth time and was dishing out practical mosh pit advice. Finally at precisely 9pm, Lambrini Girls burst out onto the stage with Big Dick Energy and the breaks were off. Phoebe Lunny and Lily Macieira were joined on drums by Misha Phillips and the energy was palpable. It only took the Lambrini Girls one song to scale the pit barrier and join the crowd on the mosh pit floor – and Phoebe proved to be a master mosh pit crafter, continuously encouraging the crowd to open up the space, make the pit and mosh to the heart’s content.

Before we got onto the next track, the whole room joined in the chants for Free Palestine, in the spirit of ‘none of us our free until we are all free’. Help Me, I’m Gay was another masterclass of mosh pit management, with Phoebe opening up the pit, jumping right in and bringing to the circle this night’s delighted queer legends, who then moshed with their fellow queer legends, again proving how safe and inclusive the room was. But with God’s Country we fully entered the protest part of the gig – a theme that went on until the end of the night. Scathing critique of the government, it was introduced by Phoebe’s trademark call outs to the crowd ‘Who hates our government?!’ The response was a deafening roar fifteen hundred strong.

Not jumping off the protest train even for e minute, the band then launched into Bad Apple, one of my personal favourites, with Phoebe leading the crowd through the chant ‘When I say AC you say AB, AC – AB!! AC – AB!!’ and after a few verses she asked the crowd ‘Do you like that song? That’s great, because we’re going to play it again and I’m coming over!’ She joined the people in the mosh pit to introduce a game: ‘Imagine I’m a copper and I’ve come to this gig to shut it down because it’s just all too gay, so when the drums kick in I want you to kick the shit out of me!’ – and another glorious mosh pit kicked off. Those mosh pits were true human art forms. I’ve seen people walk on their hands in the pit, I’ve seen a pair of knickers fly through the air, and the crowd surfrers were coming over the pit barrier in steady waves. It was a sight to behold.

I moved to the upper balcony to get a better view just in time for ‘TERF Wars’ – a song that was brought back into the set list in the light of recent events. Phoebe once again commanded the crowd, opening up the room to create a big circle and instructed each side to shout ‘Shut your stupid fucking mouth you stupid fucking TERF’ and seeing the two sides of the room come together as she sat on the pit barrier playing the guitar was a pure punk masterpiece in motion.

Misha then gave an impassioned speech from behind the drums, that emphasised that ‘if they are coming for trans rights, they are coming for your rights’, which must have been a beautiful fuel for the demo that was announced for Saturday shortly after. ‘Trans people shouldn’t be fighting this shit alone’ added Lily. The theme of ‘fucking fascism’ continued throughout the rest of the set.

Just before the end of the one hour set, Phoebe again commanded the crowd to start opening up the pit, but mentioned she wouldn’t be joining – instead she climbed up to the upper balcony and instructed the crowd below to create the biggest mosh pit Electric Brixton has ever seen – and truly I have never seen a pit that big in my whole life (and I have seen a fair few). It was glorious and terrifying in equal measures, and to the soundtrack of Cuntology 101 the crowd ran at one another and moshed euphorically. It was simply spectacular.

There is no denying that Lambrini Girls have perfectly tapped into the zeitgeist. Their lyrics are clever, piercing and politically charged, they create a safe space for their very loyal fanbase and their performances simply have to be experienced at least once in everyone’s lifetime. They are this generation’s riot grrrl royalty and if you haven’t seen them yet (or not enough times), they are on tour for the rest of the year.

• Follow Lambrini Girls on lambrinigirlsband.co.uk | Instagram | YouTube
• Follow M(h)aol on Instagram
• Follow Goodbye on Instagram | bandcamp | Facebook