There aren’t many national bands that can promise the opportunity to buy shirts and records directly from their mothers at the merchandise booth.
The Linda Lindas, however, can and did that Saturday night in an energetic, sold-out show at Spirit Hall in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.
Touring in support of their second album, “No Obligation,” The Linda Lindas range in age from 14 to 20 — drummer Mila de la Garza is 14, followed by bassist Eloise Wong (17), guitarist Lucia de la Garza (18) and guitarist Bela Salazar (20) — so it’s only natural for some parents to be along for the tour. (Plus it’s spring break for those band members still in high school.)
Saturday’s all-ages show was a much longer set compared to their appearance here on Green Day’s Saviors tour that visited PNC Park last year. Afforded 75 minutes instead of the 20 minutes they got in the opening slot with Green Day, The Linda Lindas played their entire “No Obligation” album, plus five songs off their “Growing Up” debut and four covers.
The more intimate setting translated into a more traditional rock show full of youthful energy as all four bandmates traded turns on lead vocals throughout the night. While prowling the stage, Eloise tackled the punkier songs, and Bela, sporting a Pittsburgh Pirates hat, handled lead on all three songs sung in Spanish and more. Lucia served as lead on recent singles like “Don’t Think” and “All In My Head,” and her sister Mila took over on songs like “Too Many Things” and “Stop.”
There were plenty of smiles on stage, whether it was Mila comparing her outfit to that of a Minion, singing a song about Bela’s cat (“Nino”) or the band pausing paused to say hi on a fan’s phone to a friend who couldn’t make it to the show. And when the banter faltered a little, even that drew laughs.
“Lucia ran out of words,” her sister Mila said. “That never happens.”
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The group’s sound is evolving, whether it’s new wave-influenced songs like “Lose Yourself” or more Spanish songs like “Yo me estreso,” so they’re not just known for their viral performance of “Racist, Sexist Boy” back during the covid pandemic.
The Linda Lindas paid tribute to a number of influences through their covers, boogieing through Talking Heads’ “Found A Job” and Los Prisioneros’ “Tren al Sur.” They saved two more for the encore, Green Day’s “When I Come Around” — which included a snippet of Jawbreaker’s “Want” — and the finale of Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl,” with opener Pinkshift joining on stage for a raucous, celebratory version.
Before Baltimore’s Pinkshift even started their set, singer Ashrita Kumar made a plea for inclusiveness, stressing trans rights, immigrants, body autonomy and freedom of expression.
“That fight is your fight, no matter what you look like,” she said, “because they’re going after everybody.”
Then Pinkshift ripped through 40 minutes of infectious, grunge-y punk rock, covering topics like the surveillance state (their new song “Evil Eye,” just released on Friday) to emphasizing getting people dancing with their closer of “Dreamer.”