Recap: Screaming Females at The Hideout

Going to so many shows over the years, you would think it would only be a matter of time before one of those shows got recorded. I don't mean recorded and put on the Internet. I mean recorded professionally for a proper release. Friday's Screaming Females show at The Hideout is the first such show I have been to. A couple times a band has recorded a show on the same tour that I saw them, so the set list was similar and the recording felt close to home. This was my first time being part of the actual moment of the recording of a live album.

Screaming Females, a trio from New Brunswick, New Jersey, chose to play two nights in a row at The Hideout in Chicago to record their live album for release on Don Giovanni Records. The choice of venue speaks to The Hideout's intimate, community feel. They certainly could have picked a larger venue. The last time they came through town, they played at Lincoln Hall. The first time I saw them was at Riot Fest in Humboldt Park. So to see them in such a small room held an appeal of its own. The fact that the show would be recorded was a bonus.

I continue to be impressed by the complexity of the guitar parts frontwoman Marissa Paternoster can play while singing or screaming at the same time. It is rare for the lead vocalist to also be the lead guitarist in a band. Often the singer will play rhythm guitar or bass. The unbridled talent required to do what Paternoster does is self-evident when watching her perform on stage. In the rare moment she did not have a guitar in her hands, she dove out on top of the crowd while screaming the lyrics of "Boyfriend."

The first Screaming Females album I heard remains my favorite release of theirs: 2012's "Ugly." They played "Doom 84" in all its relentless, brooding glory. Another choice cut from that album, "Leave It All Up To Me," was a thrill to watch. Keep your eyes open for news of the live album release, and if anyone reading this was at the Thursday show, share your story in the comments.

Check out "Poison Arrow" from Screaming Females' 2013 "Chalk Tape" EP below: