Live Review: Screaming Females, Camp Cope, Two Steps On The Water

It's sold-out tonight at The Curtin. Opening is perhaps the most interesting of the lot. Two Steps On The Water are starting to gain wider recognition as a result of recently released/already-acclaimed LP, God Forbid Anyone Look Me In The Eye. Their sound/live show is something that must be experienced as the band play dynamically with their audience, taking us, involuntarily, down some dark roads. It is their last song - a cover of Patti Smith's Pissing In The River - that leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Amid an already intense experience, in the later parts of the song June Jones' guitar becomes unplugged from the amp. But Jones' screams are so loud and confronting, all continue on unaffected. What this solidifies is that Two Steps On The Water are one of the most exciting acts in Melbourne at the moment.

Camp Cope open with their most defining track to date, Done, and it's as powerful and raw as on record thanks to the amazing vocal delivery of Georgia Maq, which takes charge among crunchy power-pop guitars that allow the audience to bathe in perspiration. The band sound amazing and their set is, debatably, the peak of the night. Maq is quite softly spoken when rarely bantering with the audience and they let their music do the talking. Jet Fuel Cant Melt Steel Beams is another highlight that is instantly devoured by fans and there is no real breathing room in the set's construction. Another band receiving notable attention this year, Camp Cope deliver once again.

Making their Melbourne debut all the way from New Jersey, USA, Screaming Females come out already on fire with an extended psych-pop-punk-rock jam. The guitar chops of frontwoman Marissa Paternoster have been well documented and she lives up to her reputation, attacking the axe and delivering these Jimi Hendrix-via-1920s blues-style solos filtered back through '90s alt-rock (a la past touring buds, Dinosaur Jr). If Camp Cope were to be considered quiet with their banter, then Paternoster is a loveable mouse in comparison as she mumbles her words without making eye contact (repeatedly mentioning their post-show Yah Yah's DJ appearance). But as soon as she starts playing guitar, Paternoster turns into a completely different monster; if it didn't feel authentic, this would come across as onstage persona. 

Paternoster really is the show here. When the band go into extended sections where Paternoster lets loose, the band's set is delivered with enough variety and energy that these sections never overstay their welcome, but rather invite you to pay attention to see what's around the corner. Her vocal deliveries are also of note with the anthemic slow-build croon of Hopeless a great example. With their final track, Screaming Females deliver their most confronting material. Paternoster' guitar goes for a 'crowd-surf' while she repeatedly drones into the microphone before going for a wander into the audience herself. Some guy grabs the guitar and has a crack at playing it onstage and he's not too bad (albeit a little lame). But the applause rings true and it's clear that tonight this venue was theirs.