Friday at Spaceland

Friday, August 14, 2009 at 8:00pm
@ Spaceland, 1717 Silver Lake Blvd

Theres only two people in Shellshag. Shell and Shag. Shell plays guitar and sings while Shag plays drums standing up and also sings. She has bells sewn on her belt and ankles, so there’s lots of frantic wiggling to coax the noise out of them. They both sing into a mic stand they built themselves that’s shaped like a Y, so they face each other while they play. They’re known for putting on shows that bring the house down, sometimes literally. You can always expect some crowd surfing, things being thrown accross the room, and the singing along that sometimes threatens to drown them out. The end of their show usually results in the two of them either building a sculpture out of their instruments, amps, and themselves, or completeley smashing Shag’s drums. Shellshag’s approach to art and music far exceeds the edge of the stage and the walls of the club, and as a very active entity within the American music scene, Shellshag on stage and Shellshag off stage are one in the same. Shellshag’s intentions are not to sell an illusion, but rather to interact directly with the world of music while remaining true to themselves and the creative lifestyle they have built over 15 years of D.I.Y. recording and performing. – Johnny Nopants

With:
ScreamingFemales

Bred in one of the country’s strongest DIY punk communities, the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based trio Screaming Females have actually got only one shrieking lady. Her name is Marissa Paternoster, and she is 2009’s answer to Sleater-Kinney’s 2006 breakup, using her throaty pipes and serious chops to channel that trio’s femme-shredder legacy to a new generation. The band’s pint-size leader — whose signature stage attire includes a mandarin Sergeant Pepper-style dress and a bowl haircut covering her eyes — is known for ripping until her fingers bleed. Screaming Females’ third full-length and first-ever label release Power Move is packed with fuzzy riffs and gritty, epic solos layered over Mike Rickenbacker’s disciplined bass lines, with drummer Jarrett Dougherty’s fierce beats pushing it all forward. The LP gets poppy on “Bell” and psychedelic on “Skull,” but Paternoster’s core influences (”I listen to Sleater-Kinney and the Pixies”) shine through. – Rolling Stone

plus:
Protect Me
Signals (ex-members of the Mae Shi)