A line wrapped around The Canopy Club and down the street Thursday night, with people eagerly waiting to see Mannequin Pussy’s sold-out performance. 

Mannequin Pussy is a Philadelphia based alternative-rock band consisting of members Marisa Dabice, Colins Regisford, Kaleen Reading and Maxine Steen. 

Its most recent album, “I Got Heaven,” earned critical acclaim for its themes of defiance — themes emblazoned in its Canopy Club performance.  

Fans, both Champaign-Urbana locals and visitors, gathered outside, anxiously waiting for the venue to let them in. Allysia LeSuer, who has been listening to the band for two years, made the trip from Lincoln, Illinois.

“I absolutely came to see Mannequin Pussy,” LeSuer said. “I could not pass this up, especially when it was so close to home. I love Urbana, the community here and the people are so fun to be around.”

Though LeSuer had been to The Canopy Club before, she said she had never seen a line as long as the one for Mannequin Pussy. 

“I hope that we all get in,” LeSuer said. “It’s just the anticipation … I love them so much.”

Brady Nickols, freshman in LAS and Mannequin Pussy fan, felt the line was well-earned.

“I think they deserve this long of a line,” Nickols said. “I think they deserve a longer line.”

The night started with a performance by Ekko Astral. At 9:20 p.m., Mannequin Pussy took the stage amid screams from the audience. Dabice appeared in a red dress to “SLUT ME OUT 2,” occasionally singing the lyrics to NLE Choppa’s song as the band got ready to perform.

In a swirl of fog and fluorescent lights, Mannequin Pussy started with its first song, “Sometimes,” the heavy bass vibrating throughout the room. The screen behind the band lit up white, with the words “Mannequin Pussy” in black.

After “Sometimes,” Dabice addressed the crowd before going into the next song, “Drunk II.” 

“Is everyone okay?” Dabice said. “There better not be any f—ing fights in this pit. There’s so much fighting out in the f—ing world. Everyone’s a piece of s— in the world. Tonight I don’t want you to experience any of that.”

Dabice danced around the stage as audience members moshed to the most intense parts of the song, shoving each other around in a sweat-filled crowd. 

Through the night, Dabice addressed the crowd with remarks and questions, eliciting roaring cheers. At one point, a fan offered Dabice a bouquet, which she brought on stage with her, holding it against her chest. 

Catie Gardner came to the show from Bloomington. She wasn’t a longtime fan but drove to the concert with her brother, excited to experience Mannequin Pussy’s energy.

“I actually found out about this band maybe a few months ago,” Gardner said. “I’d heard of them through friends, and I was like ‘Oh yeah, I’ll check them out.’”

The crowd’s energy remained high through each song, with throngs of people screaming Dabice’s lyrics and jumping up and down. The space in front of the stage was packed with people, with barely any room to move around. 

Before the band played “Loud Bark,” Dabice gave a 15-minute monologue about race, gender and class consciousness. Her sultry voice seeped into the mic as she addressed the crowd. 

“When we started the band, we thought that maybe, just maybe, the world would become a little bit less conservative,” Dabice said as she slowly traipsed around the stage. “But in fact, the very opposite has happened.”

The familiar chord of “Loud Bark” played in the background. The rhythm slowed down slightly, matching the intimate nature of Dabice’s voice. 

“There’s always this little voice coming from someone who tells us that what we do is obscene, that the word p—- is something that we should be ashamed of,” Dabice said. “Why is it that the words that are traditionally considered to be associated with the feminine are considered obscene?”

Dabice continued, eventually calling out all of the boys and men in the room.

“Boys, men,” Dabice said, earning screams from the crowd. “Don’t be shy, raise your hand …  I’m going to give you the attention that you used to get, but you don’t seem to get so much anymore, do you?”

Dabice invited those in the room to “pay for all the sins of their brothers” and offer their support to women not only in public but also behind closed doors.

“It is one thing to say that you are an ally,” Dabice yelled. “It’s completely another to be that thing in private.” 

Mannequin Pussy ended the night with “Romantic,” Dabice’s voice rising an octave as the roar of the guitar thundered behind her, with power swirling between sharp guitar melodies and screeching vocals.

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