Delilah Bon turns feminine rage into community in Calgary
Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder)
There are few performers who could ask a room full of people, "Who has the biggest bush in the room?" and make it feel like a political statement.
For Barnsley-born Delilah Bon, the brat-punk alter ego of musician Lauren Tate, provocation has always been part of the point. Her collision of rap, punk and nu-metal gives feminine rage a deliberately unruly home, railing against misogyny, sexual violence and the policing of queer and female bodies. At Calgary's Commonwealth Bar & Stage, though, that anger became a source of community. By the time Delilah Bon posed the question at Commonwealth Bar & Stage, Calgary had already spent the night inside her world where rage is encouraged, middle fingers stay raised and the people routinely pushed to the margins are invited to take up as much space as possible.
The British artist tore through a 15-song set opening with "ILLEGAL ALIENS" before ricocheting through the bratty defiance of "Brat," "I Don't Listen To You" and "I Am The Best." Backed by a live band, Bon rarely stayed still. She crouched at the lip of the stage, climbed directly into the crowd and screamed inches from fans' faces, while the room screamed back.
But underneath the theatricality was a much heavier purpose. Introducing "Not the President," Bon turned her attention toward the LGBTQ+ community, describing "evil men" demonizing "the most beautiful people on the planet." "This is a song about our magic that is not appreciated," she told the crowd.
Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder)
That idea of the show as a community rather than simply a performance resurfaced throughout the night. Before "I Wish A Bitch Would," Bon spoke about messages she receives from survivors while perpetrators continue to "walk free," turning the room's anger toward systems that fail victims. The night's most visceral moment came with "Dead Men Don't Rape." Bon admitted that she never intended to bring so much of herself into her live shows; she simply needed somewhere to put what she was feeling. She urged the crowd to support "the angriest bitches on the scene," arguing that mainstream culture is far more comfortable when women wear pretty clothes and "say pretty things" than when they speak openly about sexual violence or Palestine.
"That's probably why I'll never be mainstream," she joked before launching into the song.
Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder)
Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder)
Yet Bon never allowed the show to become swallowed by its own fury. That's crucial to understanding what she does live. Rage became release, and release repeatedly gave way to humour, affection and celebration. By the finale, "BUSH," she was railing against beauty standards that encourage women to look "younger and younger" before turning pubic hair into an exuberant rallying cry. A bra eventually flew overhead. It was ridiculous, deliberately so, but extremely liberating.
“I’ll be back very soon, Calgary, I promise! I love Canada,” she cheered as the crowd erupted with endless applause. Delilah Bon's songs may begin with everything she wants her audience to be angry about. In Calgary, however, rage wasn't something that divided the room. It was what brought everyone together.
Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder)
