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The Screaming Females at Maxwell’s

The Screaming Females
Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ
April 5

The Screaming Females – who hail from New Brunswick, NJ – are made up of vocalist and guitarist Marissa Paternoster, bassist Michael Abbate (aka King Mike), and drummer Jarrett Dougherty. After years of playing in New Brunswick’s famous underground basement venues, the band has become shining example of the town’s DIY music scene, pulling themselves up from their own bootstraps, booking and promoting their own shows, and creating a growing, loyal fan base.

Though the trio hasn’t quite hit the decade mark together as a band (they still have 4 years to go), they have been successful at forging their own unique sound. After drawing comparisons to DIY indie legends Dinosaur Jr. it’s easy to peg the band as indie-punk, but they are much more than that. Their music is constantly teetering between pop with melodic anthem hooks, good old alt-rock, and – more often than not – some serious metal-tinged guitar shredding from the pint-sized Paternoster.

The scene at the dark, intimate back room at Maxwell’s brought back memories of basement parties of my past: crushed solo cups, bodies crowded together, and the distinctive smell of sweat and bad beer. While standing in the audience I couldn’t help but wonder if that evening’s show was similar to the band’s basement sets of yesteryear. There was definitely a “hometown” crowd feeling throughout the show and many of the concert-goers certainly looked like they could be underage. The show also doubled as the band’s record release party for their 5th full-length album Ugly, which only added to the special feeling of the night.

The Females have built up a reputation for their high energy, raucous live performances and this show was no exception. Just seconds after the opening groove of “Starve the Beat” were played I knew that I was standing in an unsavory spot. I found myself right in the middle of a sea of sweaty bodies eager to throw themselves into one another. After re-positioning (and re-orienting) myself I was able to focus on what was going onstage: three musicians pouring all of themselves into their music.

Even though the Females entire set, including the encore, clocked in at just under an hour they were able to fit in plenty of new songs from Ugly as well as some fan favorites from earlier albums. On “Bell” from 2009’s Power Move, Paternoster showcased her lightning fast handiwork on guitar as well as her signature wailing howls. King Mike and Dougherty were prominent figures in the new song “Red Hand” with its Middle Eastern influenced bass lines and unrelenting beats. In an extended version of “Lights Out” Paternoster proved that she was not afraid of the indulgent guitar shredding solo, which only fueled the crowd’s energy even more.

After a fellow concert attendee approached me about “elbowing our way to the front” (I ended up declining), the Females rounded out the night with their pop-punk breakout single “I Don’t Mind It” from 2010’s Castle Talk. The song was met with great approval from the audience as everyone started to sing-along before the band left the stage.