By Maya Santow<\/p>\n
\u201cThat song was for the healing girlies. This one is for the messy girlies. And you can be both!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n These were the words of Katie Gavin, lead singer of queer indie-pop band MUNA, at the Royale on Monday, September 19th. The show, preceded by high-energy pop-punk opener Meet Me at the Altar, certainly proved Gavin\u2019s statement to be true in the best way. Although said jokingly, her comment encapsulated the environment created by Gavin and her bandmates Josette \u201cJo\u201d Maskin and Naomi McPherson that night: a safe, loving space fit for collective healing, queer joy, and yes, a bit of \u201cmessy,\u201d chaotic fun.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In light of the success of pop single \u201cSilk Chiffon\u201d featuring Phoebe Bridgers, MUNA has amassed an adoring fan base, largely made up of young queer listeners. The trio does not take their role as emerging queer icons lightly\u2013 throughout the show, they reiterated that their performances were a safe space for individuals with marginalized identities. Their most recent self-titled album from this year explores themes of self-discovery, identity, queer love, and self-love through a synthy, danceable pop sound, making for a concert experience that was as affirming as it was exhilarating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As hinted at by Gavin\u2019s remark, these themes presented themselves in several ways; after the introspective, \u201chealing girlies\u201d track, \u201cKind of Girl,\u201d the band jumped right into \u201cNo Idea,\u201d a song about having, let\u2019s say, less-than-holy thoughts about someone when they\u2019re not around.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This brings us to the so-called \u201cmessy girlies\u201d portion of the performance, and a large part of what makes MUNA such a compelling band to see: the sheer, undeniable sexual tension that the trio plays around with onstage. Throughout the show, the three would dance with one another in various duos while making intense eye contact\u2013 at one point, during \u201cNo Idea,\u201d Maskin got down on their knees while Gavin leaned over them, at which point the audience went absolutely wild (understandably so).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The band\u2019s interactions with one another, flirty or not, were a large part of what made them such powerful performers. Maskin\u2013 whose lead guitar and electrifying stage presence lit up the room\u2013\u00a0 would actively interact with the audience, encouraging them to sing along to Gavin\u2019s clear, bright vocals. Gavin, in turn, commended McPherson\u2019s intricate work on the synth in between songs. The way that they each encouraged one another and openly expressed not only their identities, but their bond as a group, made them that much more enjoyable to watch and established a feeling of connection and appreciation for each individual present.<\/span><\/p>\n This sense of safety, love, and community could be felt from not just the stage, but throughout the room. Watching the crowd from the mezzanine, one of my favorite things to have witnessed was the love being shown amongst the audience members\u2013 whether dancing and screaming along to the sugary, pop-anthem-esque \u201cSilk Chiffon\u201d or waving phone flashlights and holding one another during the slow, wistful \u201cShooting Star,\u201d the sheer love expressed between the audience and the band was no accident. Rather, it was the result of a cultivated sacred space made possible by MUNA\u2019s candid expression of emotion, sexuality, and a genuine love for the music and their fans.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Maya Santow \u201cThat song was for the healing girlies. This one is for the messy girlies. And you can be both!\u201d These were the words of Katie Gavin, lead singer of queer indie-pop band MUNA, at the Royale on Monday, September 19th. The show, preceded by high-energy pop-punk opener Meet Me at the Altar, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20669,"featured_media":32967,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525,1523,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32974"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20669"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32974"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32975,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32974\/revisions\/32975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}