MUNA transforms Wiltern into a gay church service

Following the release of their victorious self-titled third album, MUNA have risen to widespread national acclaim. This past week, they sold out the Wiltern for two nights in an effervescent homecoming and end to their 38-show tour. 

Opener Meet Me @ The Altar, an all-female Black and Latinx pop punk band, proved to be the industry disruptors that they were destined to be. As recipients of Halsey’s Black Creator’s Fund, the trio were like Lemonade Mouth — if the Disney band was successful, and the members were actually diverse. “We’re gonna show you guys real rock and roll,” lead singer Edith Johnson promised the crowd, and real rock and roll it was. Many of the sentiments they held easily could’ve been ennui or cheesy, but in showing just how much they cared about their music, they resonated with those who were just being introduced to this powerhouse posse. 

Smoke billowed on a bare stage and the venue went dark, as the audience grew restless with anticipation. A pulsing, near-deafening bass rang out, which would become a recurring character for the rest of the night. MUNA’s set started with the fast-paced “What I Want,” while the lights strobed. Despite the simplistic stage design, it was apparent that this show would not lack energy, nor would the production ever approach the conversation of scarcity. Following up with hit song “Number One Fan,” made it clear that their setlist would be a best-hits show without any disservice to MUNA’s most recent self-titled release.

The first surprise of the night came during the dance-while-you-cry track “Stayaway,” in the form of the original album re-recorder: JoJo. As the industry’s most valuable hidden legend, JoJo proved her talent in her crystal harmonies with frontwoman Katie Gavin. Every audience member knew JoJo and gave her the welcome she fully deserved. 

There’s something electrifying about two confident queer women collaborating; both MUNA and JoJo are acts that have reached the cult-following status that pop goddess Carly Rae Jepsen has amassed, and the energy filling the venue was a stark juxtaposition from the harshness of the outside world. While the band has often been pigeonholed into labels of indie or queer pop, the anthemic act’s world dominance seems inevitable. Jojo’s appearance could be the blessing for MUNA’s takeover, from one queer icon to another.

The trio must’ve been subject to the infamous Miley Cyrus tour training, as their stamina allowed each song to outperform the last. With enough stage presence to fill an amphitheater, guitarist Josette Maskin’s ecstatic dynamism sent waves of palpable electricity into the roaring crowd. Though MUNA’s music is often categorized as pop, the crowd was transported to multiple dimensions: The Wiltern was transformed into a club, concert hall, arena, and — later on — a rodeo. 

MUNA’s connection with their fans is a mainstay in their mission. Each audience member has a connection to these songs, and having the charismatic trio perform them lent to near-conversational presentation. Multi-instrumentalist Naomi McPherson would call into the microphone, and the crowd would answer with even greater fervor, with pink-sticky-note-covered phone flashlights raised for “Pink Light.” 

MUNA declared this night a celebration of queer life. Before launching into “Kind of Girl,” a piece about gender identity, Gavins announced, “I want to dedicate this song to any queer person here learning to talk about their identity in a new way.” MUNA aren’t musicians for queer people, their identities are part of who they are, and their music resonates beyond metrics of sexuality or gender. There’s a power to the music they make, and the addition of their ability to sing about their personal experiences imbue these tracks with a quality that many queer people can viscerally feel. During this song, the crowd collectively held each other, with couples sharing in geriatric smooching and singles uncontrollably crying. 

The queer representation didn’t end there. “Home by Now’’ introduced a new member of the band: Matt Rogers, comedian and co-host of “Las Culturistas.” As he sensually slinked around the stage and vigorously shook all there was to be shaken, the audience roared. The excitement only heightened as Matt Rogers was replaced by a set of inflatable tiny horses — a response to a trend that was acknowledged by the band in a tweet late March — that were kicked into the crowd by Gavins. 

After a moment of reflection with McPherson admitting that this tour was “the best tour [they’ve] ever been on,” MUNA plunged into their first cover of the night, “Mr. Brightside,” proving that they were a band not unlike the Killers, but with a much higher slayage factor and indisputably better music. 

The end of MUNA’s setlist came much too soon, like an orgasm with a business major, with the infamous breakout single, “I Know A Place.” Gavins recounts the story of the song being drunkenly written in a college dorm with her bandmates, and as true Anglenos, there is a line of the song that mentions “I think we should go get drunk on cheap wine / I think we should hop on the purple line.” The USC students in the crowd would’ve been shocked to find out that MUNA actually started at their school, with the trio composed of a Dornsife and two Thornton students. 

As the crowd cheered and the band exited, the stage grew dark and a static noise began to play on the speakers, prompting the audience to question whether the show was truly over. If one were to listen closely to noise, they’d be able to hear the trailer for the infamous 2003 chick-flick “Freaky Friday.” Murmurs ran through the crowd, wondering whether this was a malfunction of the sound system.

Fortunately, it was not. When the lights suddenly came back on, the band ran back out having completed a quick change into Pink Slip costumes. They completed an outstanding — and scarily accurate — rendition of “Take Me Away,” paying homage to the beloved film. It was, by McPherson’s words, a gay church service. 

This, as surprising as it may seem, was not the biggest surprise of the night. The last encore was to their first single “Silk Chiffon,” and greeting the crowd in the final chorus was Phoebe Bridgers, CEO of MUNA’s label Saddest Factory Records, and Lucy Dacus. In a large group singalong that would rival the 2011 Grammy tribute to Aretha Franklin, the night came to a triumphant close.

As a band, MUNA writes music that makes you want to #FightOn, and anyone would be lucky to witness the glory of such a hometown hero. Support your fellow Trojans, give into the queer revolution and listen to MUNA.