SCREAMING FEMALES + PERSONAL BEST – HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 25.5.18
It’s no wonder that this Screaming Females gig at the Hope & Ruin in Brighton easily sold out, as the band have amassed over 45,000 followers on Facebook.
They are a DIY-punk trio who formed in 2005 and are consist of Marissa Paternoster-Guitar/Vocals, King Mike-Bass and Jarrett Dougherty-Drums and their home town is New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
They are here in Brighton as part of their current tour in support of their seventh studio album entitled ‘All At Once’, which came out on 23rd February on Don Giovanni Records. The joyful energy contained on this disc (which is available in various formats including Digital, CD, Double-LP vinyl with a Limited Edition 7” and a Deluxe Limited Edition LPx3 with the 7” and an exclusive bonus LP of album demos) has also been captured during tonight’s brisk performance.
The band took to the stage and visually one might not surmise that they are actually all in the same band, however musically they are a very tight unit indeed. Don’t let Paternoster’s diminutive physique fool you, as this lady is full of raw guttural energy and her shouty-wobbly-style vocals spurt out her lyrics at you at a fair pace, as well as the occasional accidental gob.
Their stage show was basically get up there and get on with it. No sign of lightweight “Oh isn’t the weather lovely today” idle banter. They whizzed through their thirteen track set in about an hour I would say. Their style was basically loud indie rock, that occasionally drifted almost into metal territory, but definitely into Nirvana grunge at times, but at the same time had that early 1970’s New York grubby vibe going on too.
Not only is Paternoster an accomplished singer, but also a terrific guitar player too. No wonder Charlie Harper of the UK Subs recommended me to go and see them as they are currently his favourite band. Yep I get it Charlie!
I loved the way that prior to the start of their performance that Paternoster’s guitar was sitting in its red velvet lined case, just like a vampire awaiting to be woken from its slumber prior to doing its dirty deed.
As with the new album ‘All At Once’, quite a number of their tunes are sub-three-minute gems and have short sharp endings. So no drawn out prog rock anthems here my friends. The crowd really enjoyed themselves, judging by their rapturous applause after each track and at the end of the set.
More info on the Screaming Females, visit: http://www.screamingfemales.com/ and to hear/purchase their material, visit: https://screamingfemales.bandcamp.com/
Support this evening came from Personal Best, who are two girls (Kate and El) and two boys (Tom and Jay), who it appears come from Southsea near Portsmouth and possibly Brighton too. One might not really consider Southsea being a hotbed for the music industry, however they do have a great music venue there called The Wedgewood Rooms. I can recall seeing Jonathan Richman appear there a few years back and I liked the vibe of the place.
You could argue the case that Personal Best are almost like a Travelling Wilburys of their generation, as they are all also in other bands. Funnily enough, I have seen Tom playing bass with indie-punk outfit Haters at the same venue a few months back.
Personal Best perform spirited power-pop in the same vein as West London’s Colour Me Wednesday and Bristol’s finest duo Caves. Thankfully, judging by tonight’s nine track set, it is the newer mainly faster but polished material I am personally more into, with the best on the night being ‘Baby’. The crowd appreciated Person Best’s set too.
More info on Personal Best, visit: https://www.facebook.com/personalbestrocks and to hear/purchase their material visit: https://personalbest.bandcamp.com/
So once again, another enjoyable evening out courtesy of Andy at Love Thy Neighbour promotions company. The boy’s got an eye for talent. Check out his forthcoming gigs here: https://www.facebook.com/lovethyneighbourmusic/
