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| Screaming Females in New Brunswick's Boyd Park |
Saturday in the Park
I got home from Philly on Saturday morning at about 2:30AM. CoolDaugther #2 had a 9AM away soccer game. We all made it over there, though. The skies looked a little threatening, but it never rained. CD2's team won big, and she even got an assist. Afterwards, we stopped for smoothies and headed home. I drank some coffee and headed to Boyd Park in New Brunswick for my second annual trip to Don Giovanni's free, end of summer / back to school showcase.
By the time I arrived, Delucy had just finished. I couldn't blame Don Giovanni for sticking to a tight schedule as the weather looked like it could turn ugly any second. Ed The Punk and Young Luke Henderiks gave Delucy positive reviews, so I'll check them out.
The rest of the day, emceed by comedian Brett Davis, followed the same tight schedule with one small exception. It was just my second time seeing Glazer, and they were as good as I remembered. All fuzzy and Dinosaur Jr.-y. After their set, there was an impromptu shred-off between one of Glazer's guitarists and 8yo bass prodigy, Lil Asmar. Asmar was the emotional favorite and amazed with a pretty flawless cover of "Higher Ground." Remember. He's 8.
Things got back on schedule with Izzy True. Her shy and self-deprecating wit permeates each of her songs. Wild Rice gave us some heavier, bluesy, psych rock. New Brunswick high schoolers, Electric Trip, turned in a crazy set of metal. That ended with a guitar being smashed to bits on the concrete slab that served as a stage.
I was interested to see how Downtown Boys' performance would translate to the park setting. Having only seen them at the packed out Don Giovanni Showcase at Knitting Factory Brooklyn, I wondered what their show would feel like in the great outdoors. They were just as stirring as I remembered, lead singer Victoria Ruiz introducing each song with a call to action. Adrienne Berry's sax honking, Joey DeFrancesco bouncing as he ripped at his tele, I swear I could feel a lump rising in my throat as I got carried along by the band's passion. "This is punk," I thought.
Once it was time for Screaming Females, most of the people sitting in the concrete bleachers of the amphitheater came down to the performance area. Screaming Females, simultaneously one of the hardest rocking and sweetest bands in the business, had been audience members for most of the day and now dove into a relentless set. I don't think it was until almost the end of the set that Marissa Paternoster even said her usual, "We're Screaming Females, and we're from New Brunswick, New Jersey." It wasn't like the crowd needed the intro. I felt a few raindrops starting just as the band wound things up.
I was struck again by the sense of community and friendship that characterizes these Don Giovanni shows. From seeing Marissa Paternoster front and center for the early sets, to the shred-off with Lil Asmar, to the reception given to Electric Trip, to Victoria Ruiz calling Marissa Paternoster her band's "little big sister" and thanking King Mike for screen printing the t-shirts that helped fund their tour, to seeing Joe Steinhardt and his wife with their 9-month old baby, the day felt almost like a family affair.
I got shots of everyone except Delucy. You can see highlights below or head to Flickr for full sets.
You can also catch Screaming Females when they headline Dark City's Halloween show at Convention Hall on October 31st. Screaming Females will be performing as X, and that bill includes lots of our good friends.
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