.don giovanni goodness @ the church

Five bands. Four hours of standing. This was totally worth it. I'm familiar with some of the bands on the Don Giovanni label and this was a great night to experience even more bands live. The first band was Bad Moves from Washington DC. I liked that each of their songs sounded different and had a different vibe. It was funny because they were explaining they wrote their song "Shitty Tomorrow" a long time back and now it doesn't seem so bad compared to the post-election. 

The next band was Worriers. I liked that the lead singer Lauren was wearing a Cayetana tee-shirt. They are a punk band out of Brooklyn who sing about issues like coming out and politics. I thought it was cool their 3-song 7" was titled "Sinead O'Rebellion" because Empire Records is life.

Outer Spaces are from Baltimore. I saw them open for All Dogs back in the fall of 2016. The fact that Cara has a song about her cat is amazing. Their latest album called "A Shedding Snake" dropped in May of 2016. It's an album about leaving the past behind and moving on. They sold cool magnets at the merch table!

Sammus in full gear

Sammus was OFF THE CHARTS!! I'm pissed because I left early when she came to PhilaMoca and missed her performance. Her songs were so powerful. Some of the topics were about getting therapy when it was needed, how black girls need role models too, internet trolls, how African Americans are viewed as 3/5ths of a person. What blew my mind was her talk about Metroid (how she got the name Sammus) and during her one songs she sampled the beats from the game and had a faux Metroid arm. Hi! I'm a video game nerd from the 80s. Can I die right now?! Since I moved back from the stage before her set, I am mad jealous of all the people who had the privilege to shake her hand in the front row. When the show was over I bought her album "Pieces in Space." She gave me a sticker and a free Don Giovanni compilation sampler of Moor Mother, P.S. Eliot, Alice Bag, Sex Stains, and more! I'm smacking myself because I was so overwhelmed by her powerful performance I couldn't even muster the words "Good luck with your PHD!" before I left.

Marissa doing what she does best

Screaming Females were of course amazing. Marissa Paternoster is just amazing. When I watch her masterfully play guitar my jaw is almost on the floor the entire time. Don't ever underestimate the power of her voice. You get this tiny, adorable voice and when she starts to sing it's a powerhouse that you don't want to fuck with. My favorite thing is when she screams into the mic and puts the entire mic in her open mouth. But really! The whole band are so tight and this sonic fireball of energy. They really brought the house down. Marissa had a donations jar for people that were arrested for protesting the inauguration. What made me sad was when she said our joy and happiness cannot be taken away from us. Hopefully no one will take away our rock and roll.

I'm noticing that all of the concerts I have attended recently have been for important causes or artists are using it as a platform (some of the ticket costs have been donated to sanctuaries, LGBT homeless shelters, etc). I think that is SO IMPORTANT in times like these. Artists should speak up. Anyone that says differently doesn't know their head from their ass and needs to have a seat.