Live at the Hideout

New Jersey’s Screaming Females are a powerful punk-based trio best experienced live. Five studio albums have given a clear idea of the band’s chemistry, and singer Marissa Paternoster’s emotional intensity as a vocalist and a lights-out guitarist (often considered the best underground guitarist since J Mascis). This is music not born in the studio but created and expanded by practice and continued execution. Having recorded the excellent studio album *Ugly* with Steve Albini—a legendary engineer (Big Black, Nirvana) known for preferring natural performances—the band knew a live album would be the next logical step. A near-death experience on the ride to Chicago’s Hideout club for the two sold-out nights ensured that the band played with an increased appreciation for life at these shows, now forever preserved by Timothy Powell’s “Metro Mobile” truck. True to form for any optimal live band, the songs grow and evolve in unpredictable ways. Songs such as “Leave It All Up to Me,” “Extinction,” “Lights Out,\" and “A New Kid” sound more ferocious than ever. 

Near death experiences make extraordinary records. On their way to recording “Live at the Hideout”, Screaming Females lost control of their van. As they slid backwards down the frozen Interstate, they locked eyes with another driver, headed their way. In a blink, a semi-truck smashed into her minivan. Luckily, everyone survived, and the band made it to Chicago, with a sense of urgency that dominated bedroom-sized venue, The Hideout, for 2 nights of sold out shows. Unlike a cellphone-uploaded YouTube video, “Live at The Hideout” is a lasting document that asserts Screaming Females as one of the best live bands of our time. To ensure a professional representation of their raw live sound, Screaming Females enlisted engineers, Steve Albini and Timothy Powell—who spent those 2 nights in Powell’s “Metro Mobile” truck (a control room on wheels), which was parked in a snow-covered alley, behind The Hideout. This album is not simply raucous-sounding versions of old songs; it is an illustration of how 900+ live shows, and the roads in between, can morph songs into something entirely new. Whether it’s a 7-minute improvisation of “Lights Out” (typically a 4-minute track) or, a freak-out during “Boyfriend”—like roaring frontwoman, Marissa Paternoster, crowd surfing with blood running down her chin—the evolution of sound is evident. 9 years in the making, “Live at The Hideout” captures something immediate.