The Screaming Females, No Pasaran! Ben Franklin and Eula at The Irish in Kearny

ROAD TRIP!

The fellows from Killing Horse Records set up an epic show last Friday. Jen Schwartz, Eric Moeller and I hopped into a car, and made our way to Kearny. The bill was a recipe for good times. Eula, Ben Franklin, No Pasaran!, and Screaming Females. Two Bands I know well, a band I’ve never seen live but know of and one rogue band I’ve been seen or heard of. I know I’m going to enjoy myself, it’s the perfect mix of familiar and unknown.

Eula Started up first. Alyse Lamb (vocals/guitar) Jeff Maleri (bass) and Nate Rose (drums) really pack a punch. Panic Rock from New Haven Connecticut they thrashed through their set with wild abandon. If Denver the Last Dinosaur actually had a band this is what it would sound like!

Next up Ben Franklin. They played a bunch of new songs! They even played some stuff I hadn’t heard before. Sometime in the middle of the set Ryan Gross (KHR) informed them they could could a couple extra songs. Billy Gray Sarah Tomek Eddie Garza and Adam Copeland huddled. It was left up to the vote of the crowd between Had It Coming and Drink to Forget. I was feeling the three or six PBR’s I had consumed up to this point, “HAD IT COMING!” I shouted. Eddie retorted “Well the only guy that knows our songs wins.” (I wasn’t the only guy that knew their songs… maybe the only guy that knows all the words in this particular crowd) I did my best to represent by starting the crowd up a bit. We got some dancing in.

By the time No Pasaran! started the standing still had reached a critical mass. I’ve been waiting for enough room to rock out to these guys in proper fashion since the first time I saw them over 2 years ago. Eric Tom and Romiel are juggernauts of the Northern Jersey Rock Scene. Nothing can stop these dudes! Moshing ensued much to my enthusiastic glee. I switched from Photo-Journalist to Dancing Fool. The crowd really got behind it. There was even a token sweaty dude that everyone avoided like the drunk girl at the party. All the elements were in place.

Then the Screaming Females took stage. God damn, I hadn’t put it together just hearing them, but seeing them live. Wow, That was a show. Eddie Billy Adam and I were bouncing around like we were sixteen. Song after song each one more fun than the next. Marissa’s voice is singular. Jarret and Mike provided ground support in the rhythm section LIKE BOSSES. The room exploded. If you were there and you weren’t in the pit you were certainly aware of it. I don’t think I’ve seen that much smiling since I went to see Bouncing Souls in 2000. Quickly everyone became the sweaty guy.

After the show there was a small dance party with the gang from Spillpeak and EULA. I hitched a ride with Adam to Jersey City where we partook of watered-down margarita and cashews. From there I went with Billy and Eddie to Brooklyn. I woke up and felt like my legs were gonna fall off. Black Water was playing at 2pm and I promised Adam I’d be there….