Brooklyn's Bodega puts on art punk party in Pittsburgh concert

The lyrical content for Brooklyn’s Bodega may be serious — the absurdity of modern life, consumerism, technology, identity and more — but the messages are wrapped up in catchy, post-punk nuggets.

In their show Wednesday at Club Cafe on Pittsburgh’s South Side, Bodega showcased their newest album, “Our Band Could Be Yr Life” — named in a nod to Michael Azerrad’s book chronicling underground rock bands, “Our Band Could Be Your Life.”

Singer Nikki Belfiglio was front and center, keeping time on a hi-hat, dancing and engaging the crowd, while guitarist/singer Ben Hozie rocked a giant furry hat to her right. Joined by guitarist Dan Ryan, stand-up percussionist Adam Shumski and bassist Tim Bliss (who pulled double duty fronting opener Big Bliss), Bodega delivered a fun, art punk party to Pittsburgh.

When a member of the crowd asked if they’d be playing “new” music or “new, new” music, Hozie joked that they’d be playing “nu” metal, delivering the first two notes of Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff” before playing “Dedicated to the Dedicated.”

Other highlights included “ATM,” “Cultural Consumer III,” “Gyrate” and “City Is Taken,” as well as a variety of songs that would have fit right in alongside a B-52s, Talking Heads or Ramones show.

To mark the last night with Big Bliss, both bands crammed on to the stage for a cover of Wire’s “Mannequin,” with the jam almost a tour tradition, according to Belfiglio.

“If you don’t, you’re out of DIY,” she joked. “A tragedy, I know.”

New York City’s Big Bliss — the project of brothers Tim and Cory Race — delivered a post-punk set peppered with songs from 2023’s “Vital Return,” like “Solace” and closer “Tell Me When You’re Ready,” as well as a song released just last week, “You’re A Man.”

Pittsburgh’s Sunny Daze & the Weathermen opened the show with 30 minutes of energetic, surf-tinged psychedelic rock — what they call “flower punk.”