On Monday, May 19, MUNA played their third sold-out show of a four-night residency at Music Hall of Williamsburg. In February, the three piece announced an intimate album release tour hitting Los Angeles, New York City, and London in celebration of Dancing On The Wall, which came out on May 8.
MUNA crowns themselves as “The Greatest Band in The World” and for very good reason. Singer Katie Gavin, multi-instrumentalist and producer Naomi McPherson, and guitarist Josette Maskin know how to put on a show. Having been a band for thirteen years, they’ve crafted their image from a group of college kids with funky haircuts to confident adults taking over the queer-joy alternative pop scene.
With a capacity of 650 people, Music Hall of Williamsburg easily sold out all four nights of MUNA’s album release residency. Filled to the max with devoted MUNA stans, the intimate venue had many fans waiting along the sidewalk for hours to get barricade on one of the hottest days of the year.
Coming out at 9:15 PM to start off the beat of “It Gets So Hot,” an ironic choice for the week of the NYC heatwave, drummer Sarab Singh and bassist Geo Botelho took to the dimly lit stage. During the elongated opening, McPherson, Maskin, and Gavin individually entered through the stage door. Under the bright spotlight, the arrival of the silhouetted band members shook the venue. The crowd erupted with cheers, claps, and plenty of excited screams. Taking center stage, Gavin was a sight in all black. Donning a flowing trench coat, the singer’s movements, including fanning herself in dramatic hotness, were elongated by the spotlight positioned behind her. With McPherson to her right and Maskin to her left, Gavin’s confident demeanor only heightened at the delivery of her first verse under the pulsating white lights.
The first half of the show was easy to follow if you, like the hundreds of fans in Brooklyn that night, memorized Dancing On The Wall from beginning to end. “It’s so amazing how well y’all know this record,” Gavin said between songs, shocked as the full-length album had only been released two weeks prior.
“Wannabeher” brought out a flirty and fun side of both the band and crowd. McPherson took a step away from behind their stacked keyboards to jam out on a bright red keytar, Maskin jumped around the stage while shredding the electric guitar, and Gavin commanded the audience to clap in time with the synthesized backing beat. Leaving space for the messy duality of wanting someone versus wanting to be them, the band turns intimate, somewhat overwhelming feelings into a chaotic, daring mantra about attraction and desire. This proved to be true as the room full of fans – who, once again, knew every lyric – sung back with such drive and emotion that only comes from complex pasts and personal memories.
Within their songwriting and personal lives, MUNA does not shy away from being a political and societal force of nature. Between the rapid-fire rollout of the “Eastside Girls” bridge, where Gavin sings about non-monogamy and gender-confirmation care, and “Big Stick,” their boldest political anthem yet that discusses the abuses of systemic power in American society, MUNA doesn’t just write song lyrics at face value. MUNA raised $20,000 for Pal Humanity through a limited Bandcamp release of “Big Stick” and actively partners with organizations and charities against political oppression and institutional power. Hands Off NYC, an organization protecting New York City from ICE and federal attacks, tabled at the four Brooklyn-based MUNA shows.
Going straight down the tracklist from “It Gets So Hot” to “Buzzkiller,” the band played all thirteen new songs live for only the fourth time. The second half was beautifully crafted to explore the transcendence of MUNA – playing their favorite tracks from About U (2017), Saves The World (2019), and their self-titled 2022 album MUNA. “We’ve been a band long enough that it’s hard to put setlists together,” Gavin explained. “But we have a song from our first record that we know some people would love to hear. It’s a song about obsession, and it’s called ‘Everything.’” Replacing “Promise” on the setlist, “Everything” is a notable fan favorite due to its slow build and relatable lyricism about heartbreak. It’s one of those songs that just sits with you, demonstrated by the crowd’s equal mix of complete silence and emotional scream-singing in reaction to the older song.
Bringing the excitement back up, everyone’s favorite inflatable horse, Stacy, was thrown around (and returned safely) during “Anything But Me,” Maskin bridged the barricade during “Number One Fan,” and Gavin broke it down to “One That Got Away” as the crowd chanted, “Go Katie, go Katie, go!”, a tradition that started during their 2022 tour. Ending the night with “I Know A Place” and “Silk Chiffon,” the band’s two most popular safe-space anthems, Music Hall of Williamsburg lit up with queer joy and acceptance. Complete with an angelic solo by McPherson, who sings Phoebe Bridgers’ verse on tour, “Silk Chiffon” left the Brooklyn crowd with a certain warmth and happiness that can only come from live music.
MUNA is heading across the pond to London for their last three album release shows before the Dancing On The Wall Tour officially kicks off in September. New York members of MUNA Nation are excitedly awaiting their return to the city on Sunday, September 27, where they will be headlining All Things Go at Forest Hills Stadium.
MUNA – Monday, May 18 – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Setlist: It Gets So Hot, Dancing On The Wall, Eastside Girls, Wannabeher, On Call, So What, Big Stick, Mary Jane, Girl’s Girl, Why Do I Get A Good Feeling, Buzzkiller, Stayaway, What I Want, Number One Fan, Everything, Anything but Me, One That Got Away, I Know a Place, Silk Chiffon
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