Concert Review: Screaming Females – Whammy Bar May 28, 2019
It was a full-on rock maelstrom as New Jersey’s Screaming Females returned to Auckland’s Whammy Bar.
Frontperson Marissa Paternoster may talk quietly but her guitar speaks volumes. Along with bandmates Jarrett Dougherty (drums) and King Mike (bass), the diminutive singer and guitarist gave the assembled crowd at Whammy exactly what they came for…loud, fast and hard rocking tunes filled with raw emotion and technical proficiency.
The trio got things started with I’ll Make You Sorry, a tune taken from their latest album, All At Once, that sounded almost like power pop…lots of melody and a nice, crisp guitar solo.
By the time they got to Fantasy Lens, the band, and Paternoster in particular, had ramped up the rock riffage, sounding at times like classic 70s guitarslingers such as Blackmore, Nugent and Montrose.
Fantasy Lens segued into Halfway Down giving drummer Dougherty a bit of room to shine.
Afterward Marissa spoke to the audience in her stilted, clipped, monotone way, thanking all for attending and hawking vinyl as the merch desk.
She then put her voice to good use during Step Outside, bellowing, “Everyone wants to see a show!”
They slowed down a bit with Bird In Space, then went for gold during Chamber For Sleep, Pt1, Paternoster playing some angular post-punk lines.
Things really got cooking during Agnes Martin thanks to the tune’s bone-crunching riffs and Marissa using her best metal voice. Ronnie James Dio would have been proud as she yowled, “The sun destroys me!”
The 50-minute set raced to its conclusion with the ominous Glass House and then, Empty Head, complete with some excellent shredding at the end.
An encore was demanded and delivered…Ripe, staring with a slow build and finishing with a glorious roar.
In another day and time, I’m sure Marissa Paternoster would be hailed as a guitar God. Seeing and hearing her in a venue like the Whammy (and I should say, the sound was excellent, especially the bottom end), was a treat. This was some of the finest guitar playing I’ve heard in a while.
Marty Duda
Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Trevor Villers:
Screaming Females Set List:
- I’ll Make You Sorry
- I Don’t Mind It
- Fantasy Lens
- Halfway Down
- Step Outside
- Bird In Space
- Chamber For Sleep, Pt1
- Boss
- Agnes Martin
- Glass Hour
- Empty Head
- Ripe
