Local blasters Surly Grrly celebrate a month of 'queercore' and 'protest punk' at Mortimer's

As Surly Grrly took the stage for its first of four Wednesday gigs at Mortimer's — which they've cheekily dubbed the "It Smells Queer in Here" residency — singer/screamer/guitarist Medbh McNamara assessed the three acts that came before them.

"We only have one man on stage this entire night, and it's our drummer," she cheerfully pointed out, and then gave bandmate Peter Korhonen her blessing.

"It's OK. We vouch for him."

That's quite a vital endorsement, considering all the other men lambasted in Surly Grrly's live sets, which produce as many smiles as winces over the characters and toxic behavior being torn down in them.

Take, for instance, the clerks at their local music chain outlet who did their best to un-inspire her to start a band.

"I used to go to Guitar Center in flowered dresses just to see how I would get treated," McNamara said.

And out came lyrics such as these: "Wait, don't go, you should supervise / Your superior knowledge gives me butterflies."

Then there was the bozo the night of last week's show who saw the band loading in its gear at Mortimer's and apparently couldn't help but comment, "Looks like we got some girl rockers tonight, huh?"

"He's our inspiration for 'Piss Boy' tonight," McNamara said later on stage, introducing one of the band's trademark songs.

"Without even trying, it seems like we find some [jerk] to dedicate this song to at every show."

Talking in a booth at Mortimer's before the set, the four members of Surly Grrly confirmed what anyone with a decent sense of humor could easily decipher after seeing them perform: They're serious about tearing down the patriarchy and fighting abuse of power against women, the LGBTQ community and minorities. But they're also very interested in having a lot of fun while doing so.

"I think it helps to have a sort of playfulness when we're singing about stuff that's really horrible," guitarist and co-vocalist Eloïse Boigenzahn said.

She continued, "It helps get the message across to the people who might need it. And to the people who know exactly what we're talking about, it helps them let go and feel a catharsis."

Boigenzahn and McNamara (ages 22 and 24, respectively) have been friends since early childhood in Minneapolis, though they spent more than a decade apart after McNamara moved to New York City at age 6. They met back up as students at Earlham College in Indiana, where they started Surly Grrly in 2018.

McNamara followed Boigenzahn back to Minneapolis after college, where they played their first local gig last June at — yep! — Mortimer's.

"It's sort of full-circle coming back here a year later for this residency, and seeing how far we've come since then," said Boigenzahn, who's a third-generation player in the Twin Cities music scene.

Her grandparents are Bob (aka "Slim") and Chrissie Dunlap of Replacements and First Avenue renown, respectively. Her mom, Emily Boigenzahn, plays guitar and sings in RudeGirl, the 99ers and Whale in the Thames (the latter band also with Eloïse's dad, Charles).

Bassist Lou Levy — who is also celebrating their high school graduation this month — has a musical dad, as well: guitarist Eric Levy of Mad Mojo Jett and the Unnamed.

Surly Grrly isn't exactly their parents' brand of punk, though, given the quartet's uniquely Gen-Z outlook.

They proudly call themselves a "queercore" band, combining LGBTQ messaging with hardcore punk attitude and aggression. They're quick to differentiate what they do from the '90s-born riot grrrl movement, which they said wasn't inclusive enough of trans people.

"We still appreciate what the riot grrrl bands did, and we're playing a similar kind of music," McNamara explained. She also distinguished their "feminist punk" material from their more general "protest punk" tunes.

"Not all our songs are about the bad things men do to women. Some are just about general oppression and abuse."

A good indicator of the band's serious do-gooder intentions could be found at their merch table, where they housed a basket of free goods including women's health products, Narcan (to treat opioid overdoses) and a binder full of pamphlets and printouts on how to deal with trauma, abuse and depression.

Surly Grrly is hoping to make a serious point with their Mortimer's residency, too — using June's Pride Month to highlight the fact that there are enough high-quality queercore/LGBTQ-identifying punk and metal bands in town to easily fill four weekly lineups.

Again, though, McNamara clarified that there's also a fun side to the residency, which last week included openers Mary Jam and Crush Scene. The coming weeks will feature All the Pretty Horses, Rebel Queens, Identity Crisis, Twist Ritual and more.

"These are all bands we enjoy and want to be around, queer or not," she said.

The fun continued late into the night last Wednesday. Surly Grrly rounded out the gig with a couple of the surly-as-ever new songs currently being woodshedded for the band's first proper album, to be recorded in the fall. (The self-titled LP available via Bandcamp was recorded in the co-founders' college jazz studio.)

Then there were the few assorted covers, including Hole's harrowing nod to sexual exploitation, "Violet," the female solidarity anthem "Told You I'd Be With the Guys" by Cherry Glazerr and "Crimson and Clover," which they attributed to rock hero Joan Jett (fair enough — her version is arguably more iconic than the Tommy James 1968 original).

"It's so weird so much of this set is so gay," McNamara sarcastically noted.

Best of all, the quartet delivered a sludgy and screamy cover of Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time," highlighting the "hit me" part of the song in a way that sounded utterly dark and suggestive, but also made it wickedly fun.

A perfect choice for Surly Grrly, in other words.

When: 9 p.m. every Wed. in June.

With: Virginia's Basement, Identity Crisis, Wing Beaver (June 14); Metal Marty, Twist Ritual (June 21); All the Pretty Horses and Rebel Queens (June 28).

Where: Mortimer's, 2001 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls.

Tickets: $7 door.