Fool Me Once, Shame on You

SPEWING SWEAT TILL THERE’S NOTHING LEFT

Crushed beer cans floating through the mud-filled floor testified to the post-punk madness that defined Shame’s show at Montreal’s Club Soda. Strangers doing front-flips from the stage into the crowd matched the energy the South London band brought on stage for the tour, celebrating the release of their fourth studio album - Cutthroat. A real circus, Shame’s frontman, Charlie Steen, was the ringmaster of the Saint-Laurent venue on that snowy Wednesday evening. 

The Montreal-based band, Ribbon Skirt, led spectators into a world of their own - one crafted by the post-punk chords and lyrics of the duo Tashiina Buswa and Billy Riley. The echoes of Ribbon Skirt’s sounds did not merely reverberate off the venue’s walls, but were felt deep within. Their album Bite Down, released in April 2025, saw immense success for the band, earning them a nomination for the 2025 Polaris Music Prize. Having been on tour throughout the United States and Canada, there is a certain degree of solace to be found in Ribbon Skirt’s performance in front of its hometown supporters. The community to be found amongst the crowd of adoring listeners, if but for a brief moment, was a gift the band bestowed on us all that evening. 

For nearly ninety minutes, we belonged to Shame. Bodies floated above the crowd’s fingers, moving effortlessly to and fro in the crowded venue. Like particles in constant motion, our every movement was guided by the command from the sounds emanating from the stage. Charlie Steen was our post-punk preacher, and us his faithful servants. The perpetual colliding of the crowd became a dance of its own. Total lack of control meant a complete surrendering of oneself to the other concertgoers and to Shame. As the night went on, we slowly became one, morphing into a creature of its own. A cocktail of sweat and existential dread -- the blood of Shame -- seeped through our every fibre. 

The debauchery on stage and within the crowd continued to gain momentum, culminating in Charlie Steen jumping without hesitation into the eye of the storm. We were given the body of Shame and savoured every second of that brief encounter between the band and the masses. Our souls were well fed. Perhaps some did not even realize they were starving until they had a taste of pure post-punk pandemonium. 

Before releasing us back into the Montreal winter, Shame delivered a final song. From their debut album Songs of Praise, the ballad-like track "Angie" ended the night on a nostalgic note. Otherwise characterized by loud sounds and intense energy, the encore led a path towards introspective melancholy. The chaos from the night continued to ruminate in "Angie", as bodies kept moving above the crowd. 

As the venue slowly emptied, echoes of "Angie" continued to wander through every inch of the room. Bracing for the cold journey back home, the sounds of Shame would assuredly guide our every footstep.