REVIEW: Pinkshift Celebrates Five Years of Saccharine in Troy
08/25 @ No Fun, Troy
Photos by Shelby Hafener
“This is the catharsis of a Pinkshift show. Reinforcing our need for community, for a space without AI, without bigotry, for a space to respect nature and each other.”
There was a line waiting for doors to open outside of No Fun on Tuesday in anticipation of Pinkshift’s return to Troy. Pinkshift’s previous shows at No Fun have always been packed and Tuesday was no different.
First up was Albany’s own Sunbloc. As a touching tribute, they walked onto the stage to Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” After a moment acknowledging the loss of Dolly, the singer said “let’s have some fun,” and then dove right into their set.
Sunbloc played banger after banger and the crowd showed them so much love — singing along and forming sporadic pits — that if you walked by No Fun, you might think they were the main act.
A standout song of theirs was “Dizzy,” with a chaotic opening that reflected in the pit. Folks two-stepped, threw elbows, and swung each other around with smiles on their faces. Their cover of Hole’s “Celebrity Skin” nearly blew the hinges off the place. Many in the crowd sang along and nodded their heads in approval at the cover choice. Sunbloc without a doubt made fans out of those who had never seen them before.
After that was Pollyanna. This is not the first time Pollyanna had performed at No Fun; Pinkshift brought them as their surprise opening act the last time they were in Troy in early 2025. Turns out, it was a perfect match.
The singer, Jill Beckett, had the energy of a lovable but unpredictable dog, speaking to the crowd in hushed tones before barking greetings and orders (“hi Troy… TROY… Hi. JUMP!”) at the crowd with an enthusiastic smile. The audience delightfully obeyed.
Pollyanna makes incredibly catchy, energetic power-pop/punk that makes you want to dance, despite the often sad lyrics. As if to prove this fact, Beckett introduced a song by saying, “Troy, are you ready to shake your booties? We’re a booty shaking band. This song is about dying slow so let’s shake our booties to it,” as a lead-in for their song “Die Slow.”
The earworm of the night was their song “Boy Girl” about not conforming to the gender binary. “I’m a fucking boy girl, won’t conform to your world, you don’t have to tell me, I do what I want.”
Another track that piqued the audience’s interest was an untitled and unreleased song about ADHD, which Pollyanna crowd-sourced possible titles for. Someone in the audience shouted "Adderall Shortage” and the band visibly considered it. With any luck, Troy will have helped name that song, cementing itself in Pollyanna’s history.
All the while, Paul Vallejo of Pinkshift was doing double duty, playing guitar for Pollyanna ahead of his own headlining set. Beckett made sure to give Vallejo a shout out, who made hearts with his fingers back, and danced on stage, at times bumping into and leaning on Beckett. It’s clear that these bands absolutely adore each other and it made the show all the more precious to be present for.
Towards the end of their set, Beckett brandished a guitar like a gun and walked through the crowd, splitting them straight down the center to encourage as much action as possible. This Pinkshift tour is unique, celebrating the five-year anniversary of their smash first release, an EP called Saccharine. The audience needed to be adequately energized for the performance to come. So naturally, the end of Pollyanna’s set let everyone loose on the floor, once again proving that a Pollyanna and Pinkshift bill is a perfect match.
Then the houselights dimmed. It was time for Pinkshift.
Immediately they started with their song “BURN THE WITCH,” letting the audience know exactly what they’re about, with the lyrics “oh, burn the witch, you’ve got two feet, why don’t you stand for something?”
While Pinkshift has only existed a handful of years, it’s amazing to watch what they do. They play like seasoned veterans of the stage. In particular, lead singer Ash Kumar, who — despite their five-foot frame — holds themself with the confidence of someone towering far above everyone else in the building. Kumar leapt into the crowd during the second song they played, unable to contain their happiness, despite the intensity of their lyrics.
A striking moment during their performance was when Kumar explained that they developed asthma after the wildfires in 2023. One of the ways they can forgive the world for this unfortunate circumstance is when they’re in nature or when they get to share in the experience of music. Kumar thanks everyone for being here and takes a minute to scan the room, making it feel as if their eyes are meeting everyone, a nonverbal thank you to each individual member of the crowd.
After that, Kumar asks the crowd if they’ve ever seen a Flock camera, which caused quite a vocal reaction due to the rise in such cameras across Albany and Troy. This was a perfect segue into the song “Evil Eye.” “Heads down, cannot see me now, the evil eye is dangerous, can’t let it see me…”
After a few of their newer songs, the band expressed their gratitude for where they are now. Kumar explained that when they wrote Saccharine they were in school together and everything often felt overwhelming. The only solace they had was writing together.
“This… Is Saccharine,” Kumar announced before the band plunged into the fast-paced punk “Toro,” appropriately named, as it felt like the band was about to charge straight at you while they performed.
Although the plan was undoubtedly to continue through the entire EP, Vallejo stepped to the mic and asked the crowd “does anyone else have to pee really bad?” A few people in the crowd answered in the affirmative. He debated on leaving the stage and ended up running off while everyone cheered him on. Good old fashioned Troy hospitality!
While waiting on Vallejo, Kumar picked up his guitar and started playing something new. Vallejo returned about halfway through, picked up a mic, and in true band solidarity, got down on a knee and became Kumar’s micstand. While we weren’t given a name for the song, Kumar explained that they had been wanting to test out that song live for quite some time. Troy was lucky that Vallejo’s timing fell to our show.
Afterwards, Kumar split the crowd down the middle and asked for an all-girl pit. Clarifying that, while they’ve come out as trans masc, the first time they had ever been in a pit was when a band called for an all-girl pit. They eagerly gave nonbinary folks permission to join the pit too, before allowing the pit to pinball against each other to “On Thin Ice.”
It’s tradition that Pinkshift asks the crowd to do a guttural scream with them to open their most recognizable hit, “i’m gonna tell my therapist on you.” Kumar counted us in and the audience absolutely unloaded. This is the catharsis of a Pinkshift show. Reinforcing our need for community, for a space without AI, without bigotry, for a space to respect nature and each other.
Lastly, they ended with “Rainwalk,” the entire band showing the height of their skills with their song that perhaps hits the hardest in their entire discography.
The crowd instantly swarmed towards the doors. Everyone had ratcheted up the heat in the building by dancing all night. But folks were anything but eager to leave. Spilling out onto the streets of Troy, everyone took a breather, debriefed the show, and cooled off together. Thanks for the community, Pinkshift. We hope you’ll be back soon!
Follow Pinkshift @pinkshiftmd on Instagram. The fifth anniversary edition of Saccharine is out now.
