Shame Concert at Sister Bar

Shame, an English post-punk band, played at Sister Bar in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on October 5, 2022. I attended this concert and was pleasantly surprised at the energy in the room. The audience seemed to get wrapped in the enthusiasm that lead singer Charlie Steen and fellow bandmates Eddie Green, Charlie Forbes, Josh Finerty, and Sean Coyle-Smith carried with them into the venue from across the pond.

With Steen on the microphone, sweating and singing hit songs from their latest album, released in January 2021, Drunk Pink Tank, the crowd danced in delight as drinks were spilled and just for a little, while it seemed most people were free for a moment from their worries.

I felt out of place at first. It's my first experience at a show where mosh pits formed in unison of free-flowing energy - where the thin line between the stage and the floor seemed to blur into a dance of hands, holding up Steen as he sang while tethered to the microphone power cord.

The venue, Sister Bar, seemed a perfect fit for this show. Although the stage was smaller than most, I realized that less is more. Steen mentioned to everyone in the crowd that he prefers playing in smaller venues like this one. I can see why – there is something much more intimate and connected in such an environment. Nestled in downtown Albuquerque, the entrance is unassuming, and most people walking by probably would not know that such a band could be playing there. It's important to note that the show sold out, and the line of people waiting to get into the concert wrapped around the block, even on a rainy night.

Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop mentioned, "Drunk Tank Pink sounds like the band’s really playing like their lives depend on it." My experience was consistent with that description. I have never seen the full-throttle explosive power of a band like this before. Maybe most of it could be attributed to the relatively young ages of the band members (all are in their early 20s), but it could also be because they may have what it takes to break a lot of folks out of the shells that have formed around the last few years of the pandemic.

The album Drunk Pink Tank will delight you and provide a needed boost in your day. I went home after this concert feeling light and heavy at the same time. Even though we have all gone through some hard times recently, bands like Shame exist to extract all the emotions so that we can process them and carry on, one foot in front of the other.

Cheryl Lowe, a freelance writer for New Mexico Entertainment magazine, is an avid runner and enjoys learning more everyday about the growing film industry in New Mexico.