Screaming Females at Saint Vitus (photo by Kate Hoos)

 

The first time I saw Screaming Females was 15 years ago at a DIY show that my band at the time was also booked on. I had no idea who they were before the show but remember being knocked on my ass during their set thinking, “who IS this band?!” because they were just that good. At that point they had just self released their first album, Baby Teeth, and were an NJ local much like my band was. Flash forward another few years and my band was long finished and Screaming Females were well deservedly blowing up. In the intervening years I’ve seen them several times since that first shared bill together, most recently at OctFest 2019, but I only caught half of that set and from the back of the crowd due to the nature of festivals having bands overlapping and getting to their stage later. That was definitely a bummer at the time so I was more than thrilled to be get to see them again this past Sunday, this time closer and able to shoot the show too.

 

The band kicked off a small East Coast run at Saint Vitus on Saturday night 10/23 playing with Freezing Cold. That show sold out pretty much immediately, so they added a second show at Vitus for Sunday 10/24 which I was able to attend. This night saw them joined by their long time friends/showmates, Shellshag, who put on a damn exciting show. They are one of those bands I’d somehow missed every chance they were playing near me so this was actually my first time seeing them, a real shame for my past self because they were great. They remind me of a cross between the Mecca Normal and Beat Happening, two bands I really love and who were formative for me. This duo is a mighty burst of good vibes and fun times, something we can all use in these weird and uncertain days we find ourselves navigating through over the last several years now. I’ll take every ounce of that I can get.

 

Screaming Females hit the stage in absolutely peak form, and really the only way to experience the full force of guitarist Marissa Paternoster’s epic shredding is up close and personal so it was awesome to finally get to do that again. They began the set with “Glass House,” the opening track from 2018’s All at Once which is a big favorite for me. “Ripe,” is also another very big favorite for me and those aforementioned shreds were burning hot, offset with the slinky bounce of King Mike’s bass line swirling all around, for an absolute highlight of the night. Other highlights included “Dirt,” and “Bird In Space.” Closing with “I’ll Make You Sorry,” the band finished and didn’t play an encore but really, with not one person in the crowd standing still during it, do you even need to follow it up? It was the perfect end and I always say, don’t mess with that. (Though I do admit, I would have liked to have heard “Black Moon,” at some point in the set but I was more than happy with the rest of the set so it’s all good.)

 

Having had the unique opportunity to have seen them very early in their career and then again all these years later, I can firmly attest that Screaming Females are just as exciting and fresh as they were that first time I saw them 15 years ago, the obvious advantage now is that they have grown as song writers and can pull from a much bigger catalog. I only wish I could have kept going with the tour to see the rest of the run.

 

 

Scroll down to see pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)

 

 

SHELLSHAG

 

 

SCREAMING FEMALES