[REVIEW] Screaming Females w/ PUJOL & Roadblock | 10.28.14 @ The Stone Fox

Screaming Females, PUJOL, Roadblock
The Stone Fox, Nashville, TN
October 28, 2014

Review by Jacqui Sahagian.

On Tuesday, Screaming Females joined hometown punk hero PUJOL for a packed show at the hipster mecca The Stone Fox. PUJOL is coming off of the release of his acclaimed album KLUDGE earlier this year, and the crowd was rabid for Nashville’s pop punk star. Those who came for PUJOL and stayed for the incredible alternative punk trio Screaming Females were treated to seeing one of the best guitarists playing rock and roll at the moment up close and personal.

Click through to read our full review of PUJOL’s homecoming and Screaming Females’ raucous set.

Roadblock are a local supergroup of sorts composed of members of Deluxin’, Bad Friend, Leather Nightmare and Supermelt. The band’s tunes don’t exactly sound intimidating enough to block a road, but they did have a tight set of alternative pop. The all-boy five piece seemed like they could have been equally as at home playing in a punk club or a frat house. Think a jammier slacker-boy Ramones or Television.

By the time PUJOL took the stage there was barely any elbow room in the converted house that is The Stone Fox.  The local garage pop punk with signature nasally vocals gained raves from the national press for KLUDGE, which was recorded by night at a teen crisis center in Mt. Juliet and explores feelings of isolation and disconnection. Daniel Pujol’s music definitely isn’t all serious, though, with the brand new song “June Bug” sampling the sounds of beetles buzzing and being about “not dulling the blade,” whatever that means. Pujol gave hyper and bizarre explanations for each song which weren’t all that helpful for understanding what the hell he was talking about. Not that the jubilant, moshing crowd of hometown fans really cared. They even thought his joke about being a teapot was funny.

Screaming Females are essentially a show piece for singer/guitarist Marissa Paternoster, who has been shredding and howling with the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based indie punk trio for nine years. The Females’ most recent album, Ugly, was produced by alternative god Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Pixies) and Paternoster was voted one of Spin’s greatest guitarists of all time. Paternoster is a tiny ball of kinetic fury when she performs, screaming and playing extended guitar solos that were cock rock in their attitude and length but alternative underground in their sound. The rhythm section knew it was her show, but still had her back while Paternoster writhed on the floor, swallowed the mic, and flung herself into the crowd during a long instrumental after the closing hit “Bell.”

Paternoster joked “Nashville, Tennessee? Where’s that? Never heard of it?” midway through the set while some drum kinks were being worked out. She might not have known or remember where she was on Tuesday night, but the Nashvillians that caught her at the Stone Fox will certainly remember her.