Destroy Boys and Mannequin Pussy
Channel 24, Sacramento
August 9, 2025
Photos by Paul Piazza
Destroy Boys and Mannequin Pussy recently shared headlining honors at Sacramento’s Channel 24. The fast-rising bands have been on a scorching path over the last few years, touring relentlessly and shaking up new fans up with their intense music as the legions expand massively.
While the pair of bands hail from opposite ends of the US, they are united in their powerfully engaging activism, commitment to art, introspective and unapologetic songwriting and pure punk energy.
Yet, their music differs in nuanced approach that has connected with a growing legion of listeners and passionate devotees.
Destroy Boys are from Sacramento and this was a homecoming dream for them to headline the city’s newest venue.
Mannequin Pussy reside in Philadelphia and have been wowing people with a blend of aggressive, defiant punk, and buoyant power-pop with a taste of shoe gaze.
Their latest album, I Got Heaven, revels in uncomfortable contradictions and was one of the best indie-rock albums last year. The record features a batch of strong tunes that go from quiet/loud dynamic such as “Loud Bark” and also features straight-up high-velocity rippers like “OK?OK!OK?OK!.” There are many melodic moments embedded within the record as well.
Mannequin Pussy came out swinging with a powerful set that featured a majority of songs from the new record and some nice bits and pieces from earlier records.
But perhaps the lengthiest bit of their set was when vocalist Marisa “Missy” Dabbice went into a visceral seven-minute social diatribe. Dabbice opened with a statement about the right to artist expression and veered through a multitude of contemporary subjects such as ICE, gender-affirmation, and defeating oppressors before she ended it perfectly with a call to action.
Keeping the strong protest theme going, Destroy Boys were introduced by Ruth Ibarra, one of the board members of Nor-Cal resist. Ibarra made a fiery anti-Ice speech and then the Sacramento band arrived on stage with the same incendiary intensity.
Led by band founders Alexis Roditis,vocals and Violet Mayugba-guitar, vocals, the band played a set heavily loaded with tunes from their great recent album Funeral Soundtrack #4. This was their fourth studio album. Their sound embraces punk, yet can include tastes of grunge and rock with a melodic twist.
Roditis and Mayugba prowled the stage throughout the night, inciting fans into new levels of musical ecstasy. They closed the night spectacularly when they whipped out a gold nugget they don’t often play live called “American River.”
It’s a tune about getting stoned amidst self-discovery and community college navigation that was penned while attending the a well-known Sacramento learning instituion. Needless to say, this song went over overwhelmingly in their home town. It was a fitting finish to the night.
The day before the show, Mannequin Pussy and Destroy Boys had been featured at the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco. Destroy Boys have also played Sacramento’s huge Aftershock Festival. It’s pretty evident that the ceiling for both of the bands continues to go higher and higher.
Newdad, an Irish indie rock band opened the show and went over quite well, with a sound that at times echoed the Cure.
