I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: April 5, 2018] Screaming Females

It’s ironic, I suppose, that Screaming Females are a band from New Brunswick, NJ (not far from me) who apparently plays (or once played) lots of basement shows and unnamed clubs in that city, but I traveled all the way to Philly to see them for the first time.

I’m not the kind of person who gets invited to secret underground shows, and that’s fine.  I’ll happily see a band in a great venue with a rowdy crowd.

The focus in Screaming Females is centered on Maria Paternoster because she is a stellar guitarist and a compelling singer and front woman.  But we mustn’t forget King Mike Abbate on bass and Jarrett Dougherty on drums who have made up the band since the beginning.  All three were there in fine roaring form, working like a tight machine.

I discovered them when mt brother-in-law Ben gave me Rose Mountain for Christmas.  I instantly fell in love with the album–Paternoster’s riff s and vocal delivery were awesome.  I haven’t listened to too much else by them.  But I did get their new album when they released it.  It’s always good to know the new stuff, especially since 4 of the 11 songs they played were new.

The band came out and set up and adjusted their own gear.  Marissa even hooked up the dancing air guy (seen here next to King Mike) which has Screaming Females printed on it.  A nod to fun that I hope the band had (not a lot of smiles were shared on stage).

Then Marissa picked up her guitar, did some adjustments and launched into the new song “Black Moon.”

I was feeling a little overwhelmed and beaten down by Thou so I wasn’t sure if I was still in the mood for Screaming Females.  But as soon as that riff started and Marissa started singing, I knew I was in the right place  The record is fantastic, but the live energy is undeniable.

Paternotser isn’t too flashy but she can play some wicked solos.  It’s especially surprising given that the songs themselves are fairly simple, catchy punk rockers.  They have solos, but nothing like the things she did between songs (the band jammed with her, it wasn’t like she just stood there showing off).  And it was really fun to be able to see her up close.

During one of the songs, her guitar strap unbuckled.  She wound up doing this amazing Ian Anderson-one-foot pose while she played-never losing a second or a note. It was really amazing.

I was hoping they’d play some songs from Rose Mountain and I was not disappointed, the next two songs were the title song “Rose Mountain” and the final song “Criminal Image.”  I was psyched to hear this riffs live and see that she could play all the parts like nothing (its easy to forget that she is the only guitar because she plays so much).

They jumped back to some old songs that I didn’t know (evidently I should be getting Ugly next).  And then on to “Ripe.”  This crowd had been getting small mosh pits going pretty much from the start but by the time “Ripe” started wailing, the whole crowd was awash with moshes (no surfers though).  The pit expanded pretty far and wide by this time and I had to rescue a few people from falls.

After another song from Ugly, (on the older songs she seems to scream more intensity) they returned to two more new ones, “Glass House” and “Soft Domination.”  The new songs fit perfectly with the old.

They ended the set with “A New Kid.”  A couple of times during the set she came near the edge of the stage and did some whaling into the crowd–guitar neck stretched precariously above the fans  She even did some shredding on her knees at one point near the end of “Kid.”

She talked to us a few times, thanked us for coming and told us to support the artists by buying merch (which I meant to do–their show poster was very very cool) but the crowd was a massive swell after the show and I was ready to get home–I didn’t want to have to slam my way to the merch counter.

They came back for an encore.  The crowd went crazy when they came out and then were silent while the band got their gear ready.  During the silence, a guy behind me said quite loudly “c’mon you guys, aren’t you having fun?”  I assumed he was saying it to her because she didn’t look like she was having fun.  Evidently he was talking to the crowd because he then said, you guys make some noise, show you’re having fun.  But after he said “aren’t you having fun?” Marissa shrugged her shoulders without looking up at the guy.  And then started playing the new song “I’ll Make You Sorry.”

When the song was over, she immediately dropped her guitar on the floor and started unplugging everything and packing it up.

So who knows if she had fun.  I know I sure did.  Even with barely over an hour of music, the set was cathartic and exhausting.

Set list

1. Black Moon [AaO]
2. Rose Mountain  [RM]
3. Criminal Image   [RM]
4. Tell Me No [Ugly]
5. Bell  [PM]
6. Ripe   [RM]
7. Rotten Apple [Ugly]
8. Glass House [AaO]
9. Soft Domination [AaO]
10. A New Kid [CT]
    encore
11. I’ll Make You Sorry [AaO]