Throwing Muses / 50 Foot Wave / Screaming Females

Kristin Hersh cannot be accused of failing to keep it real. She started Throwing Muses in the mid-‘80s while a teenager and has since had what Volcano Suns once deemed a “career in rock,” with a prolific (and quality) streak rivaling Neil Young. Her official discography is comprised of records by Throwing Muses, her more recent 50 Foot Wave, and various solo outings, numbering in the thirties, and yet she’s only 43, continuing her maverick streak by doing shit like offering up the entirety of 50 Foot Wave’s back catalog as a pay-what-you-will download at Cashmusic.org. And lately, she’s taken to satisfying her cult by appearing in both of her active bands on the same night, a veritable “Hershfest,” if you will. Such is what occurred a few Thursdays ago at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, a 500-capacity venue located in the heart of Brooklyn’s hipster enclave.

Contrary to what the lady at the box office told me, 50 Foot Wave was not the first of the three acts to hit the stage. What a jerk. The first would be Screaming Females, a fiery trio that makes its home in New Brunswick, New Jersey—a college town known for myriad basement punk shows, awesomely overstuffed sandwiches courtesy of the “Grease Trucks,” and a Rutgers football team that was a complete and utter embarrassment until roughly four years ago (yeah, I went to school there). Their moniker is a little misleading in that their only actual female is guitarist/frontwoman Marissa Paternoster, with a two-male rhythm section, a la the Muses. And like Kristin Hersh before her, a cursory glance at the Females’ live show reveals that Paternoster is born to shred. She barely stands five feet, and her eyes are completely obscured by a shag haircut; Paternoster makes like a post-punk Jimmy Page, putting a modern slant on wah-infused Zeppelin riffs while vocally splitting the difference between Karen O and Chrissie Hynde. Touring in support of their forthcoming (and rather good) Power Move, the Screaming Females gaining exposure to an audience full of Kristin Hersh fans made total sense. And Paternoster needs to share a bill with Marnie Stern, stat.

On paper at least, Kristin Hersh’s 50 Foot Wave struggle to justify their existence apart from Throwing Muses. Both are power trios, with Hersh and bassist Bernard Georges in both bands, the only non-Muse being drummer Rob Ahlers, but their differences are immediately evident onstage. Obvious is that the Wave are purposely more agro than Throwing Muses, mostly on account of Hersh’s wider reliance on power chords and Ahlers’ animalistic drumming. This is hardly to suggest that Muses skin man David Narcizo doesn’t bring it, but Ahlers’ vibe is more informed by hardcore punk and conducive to simply bashing shit with Keith Moon-style drum fills while somehow still keeping up admirably on backing vocals. Or, put another way: Bernard Georges played the majority of Throwing Muses songs with his fingers and the majority of 50 Foot Wave songs with a pick.

And frankly, it’s a good thing that both Georges and Ahlers are supremely animated onstage; Hersh sure as hell isn’t. She was the definition of an expressionless performer, nailing every chord change but standing stationary and, as if in a trance, seldom blinking. Her lack of immediate stage presence can be a little jarring for those expecting, say, Carrie Brownstein, but her vocal snarls (and 50 Foot Wave are unquestionably snarly) were dead on and her band was tight as all get-out, hurtling forward like a bowling ball thrown down a flight of stairs and still capable of stopping on a dime. So palpable was their energy that a buddy of mine, witnessing Kristin Hersh for the first time, actually preferred 50 Foot Wave to the headliners.

After a brief intermission, Hersh and Georges hit the stage again as Throwing Muses, but not before she signaled David Narcizo’s presence with a “now we’re marching to the beat of a different drummer” knee-slapper. The dip in energy from 50 Foot Wave’s set was noticeable, but not entirely unexpected considering the Muses more traditionally “‘90s alt-rock” sound versus Wave’s hardcore. In other words: more melodic lead guitar and wah pedals, fewer power chords, and Hersh still barely moving a muscle at stage right, her band mostly stuck with material off of Throwing Muses’ last three full lengths. 1995’s University is the Muses album with which this writer is most familiar, and it was heavily represented, the set kicking off with that album’s “Start,” followed by “Hazing” and “Shimmer.” Other notable highlights included a spastic version of “Tar Kissers” from 1996’s Limbo and that album’s title track. University‘s big (on college radio anyway) hit “Bright Yellow Gun” was also featured, though it felt a touch phoned in relative to the remainder of the set.

And that was that. The evening was plenty satisfying for all fans of, y’know, Kirsten Hersh. Three bands, only twenty bucks, and guitar pyrotechnics to spare. I would anticipate a positive future for Screaming Females and Kristin Hersh doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. For these simple truths we give thanks.