Photos and a review of Pussy Riot in Ottawa

[If there was ever a time when we needed more Pussy Riot, it’s now. Ross MacDonald and Karen Coughtrey were at their Ottawa show. -AC]

Friday day night (April 4, 2025) in Ottawa brought a concert experience few in attendance will ever forget. First because of needing to pivot their plans as the last minute closure of the original suburban venue left everyone involved scrambling and forcing attendees to re-adjust their Friday night plans to a new start time and downtown Ottawa location.

The Ottawa Art Gallery saved the show, opening their Alma Duncan Salon to Pussy Riot and opener Margø. The show Riot Days is billed as an activist multimedia experience and is based on Pussy Riot member Maria “Masha” Alyokhina’s second book, set to be published this fall, which chronicles her experiences since being released from A Russian prison.

It was without a doubt a powerful evening and Margø brought the perfect strong female energy to kick off the night. Known for her dark femme aesthetic she was clad in a flirty puffed sleeve mini dress, corset belt, and tall black combat boots.

Margø may have been a new artist to many in attendance but the Punk Rocker, now an LA resident, is originally from Edmonton, and after congratulating the crowd as troopers for navigating all the last minute changes she declared how happy she was to be back in, and how much she has missed her home country.

Although her image and lyrics ooze fearless and strong self confidence she admitted that the set-up of the salon, without a raised stage, meant it was the first time she was performing looking the audience dead in the eye, and that despite her big boots she found it rather intimidating. If she had any nerves it didn’t show and taking her job to warm up and liven the crowd appropriately seriously, she performed a rocking 8 song set including ‘Cool On The Internet’, ‘Marionette’, ‘Love Me Ugly’, and ‘RIP’, even keeping the crowd engaged and entertained through some minor technical difficulties when she briefly lost her in-ear monitor.

If by some small chance you are not aware, Pussy Riot are a Russian feminist and performance art group known for their acts of protest, for some members having been sent to the gulag, and on the musical side of things for their punk rock music. Ottawa was treated to such a performance from the group at the 2019 iteration of the large yearly summer music festival, Bluesfest. But the one person who admitted to having attended the previous iteration of Riot Days (it was performed in Toronto and Montreal) would’ve known more than most that the night’s offering would be a very different sort of show.

And a different sort of show it was for many reasons. First of all, it attracted an extremely diverse crowd with people of a variety of different ages and identities in attendance. Second, and again because of the lack of a raised stage and the importance of the messages to come, the audience was asked to sit (on the floor, there were no chairs) so that everyone could see the band and read the subtitles that would accompany the performance visuals. And third, as the venue had no bar or food and drink offerings of any sort, it felt maybe more like attending a school assembly than a rock show. And although that was likely not how most in attendance thought they would be enjoying the show, only a handful of people in the packed and very warm room would leave early.

The feelings of excited anticipation of the crowd were palatable as the following started appearing and looping on the screen.

“We don’t choose where we’re born.
We don’t choose the colour of our passport.
But we do choose how we live our lives.
To fight back or not to fight back at the system that makes cogs of humans.”

Next producer, Alexander Cheparukhin took to the stage and provided a detailed explanation of the history of the show and the work that has gone into making it possible. He has been an integral figure in the organising of many large music festivals was called to action at the shock of that state of Russia sending musicians to prison, and so enlisted his famous contacts including Peter Gabriel, Patti Smith, and Paul McCartney among hundreds of other established musicians to write letters to the girls and to the courts to have their decisions overturned.

Alexander would also reveal that Maria Alyokhina and Nadeshda Tolokonnikova, the two members of Pussy Riot sent to the gulag, were never actually members of the band, they had never performed together, but had acted as part of the group in the protest video filmed in the church for which they were charged with hooliganism and that he tried for years to convince them to turn their story into stage show. Maria gained confidence after starting to write her first book and Riot Days was born.

Maria was joined on stage by Alina Petrova on violin and drums and the newest member of the group, Taso Pletner on flute and voice.

To say the show was powerful is a huge understatement. It is intense and informative and fast paced. It is a show you need to see for yourself to fully understand and probably need to see it multiple times to take it all in, as it is a “blink and you’ve missed it” type experience. It is all at once scary, unnerving, and moving and hopeful, and if not the case already you will find respect and awe for their continual bravery and conviction.

The music is fervent and moving and perfectly reflects the atmosphere and mood, the spoken words are forceful, severe, and impassioned. The clothing and actions are both important and statement making. The visuals and videos hide nothing and are extremely captivating, their thoughts on Putin are clear and irrefutable and you better be reading the sub titles in order to keep up with the story. The show dares you to try to look away but you’ll find you can’t, or at least don’t want to.

The show opens with Alina alone on stage playing some beautiful moving classical music on her electric violin before transitioning into something more frantic and harsh as Pussy Riot flashes on the screen and elicited cheers as “Anyone can be Pussy Riot” appeared on the screen. The first part of the show is a renewed version of the original Riot Days shows which chronicles the early history of the group, the early protests, arrests, trial, and Maria’s imprisonment.

The second part, which they say is still a work in progress, continues on from there. The show consists of 13 of what one might consider chapters with titles such as “Rainbow Diversion”, “Navalny”, “Arrest Carousels”, and “War”; and this second part covered a wide range of topics including the Sochi Olympics and the annexation of Crimea.

A main takeaway of the night can be summed up by one statement flashed on screen which read “Go to jail, leave the country or shut up. Those are the only three options you have.” And part of the show included a montage dedication to the many Russian political prisoners.

As the show moved into the time of the current war in Ukraine, Maria donned a shirt with the statement “stand with Ukraine” emblazoned upon it, and explained that proceeds from the books and band merch were going to support Ukrainian Okhmatdyt children’s hospital and foundation.

The show ended on a hopeful note, addressing current USA-Canada relations and urging the crowd not to be scared, to hold their head high, to be brave and stand up, that it would all be alright. The show continues west across Canada this week, with the last Canadian date landing on April 15, in Vancouver and then continuing with a few American dates.

Pussy Riot:
Maria “Masha” Alyokhina – vocals
Alina Petrova – violin, drums, voice
Taso Pletner – flute, voice
Alexander Cheparukhin – producer

Margø – vocals
Martin Rodrigues – drums
Cole Heramb – guitar