The Breeeders / Screaming Females - Kings Theatre - 9/23/23
Review and photo by Sean Coulter
So, it’s been 30 years, we’re all a little grayer around the edges and it’s time to stop throwing our “hands in the air” and pretending “we just don’t care,” because in reality, the kids' college bill is in the mail. Thanks to the Breeders, though, we can jump in the DeLorean and time machine back to ‘93 for a night to kick it with Dayton's cool kids, old school style. It was a blast from the past to see them perform their breakout LP Last Splash from start to finish for a 50-plus minute bliss-filled mass of musical mayhem.
Kim and Kelley traded off leads and vocals as the JJ’s - Jim Mac and Josephine Wiggs - laid down a brick-solid foundation that paved the way to the band’s best release. It was rougher around the edges than the record, but as you know, this 50-year old critic likes it rough 'n' tumble, so it worked well. Sometimes the shit got sloppy and fun and that’s the warts and soundscapes that we love about the Deal sisters. They’re unapologetic in their professional and personal successes and failures, and alluded all night to the history that haunts them as well as make them one of the best bands from the Indie Rock revolution.
I’ve always thought the band was best when playing instrumentals and S.O.S. didn’t disappoint. Kim and Killey seemed to hit their stride on “Driving on 9” as their vocals warmed into a sugary sweet serum and felt fully flexible from then on out. I would’ve loved if J Mascis was in attendance for his cover of “Divine Hammer” on the recent Last Splash remastered bonus cut “Devine Mascis,” but hey, can’t have it all, ya know. Like a '67 Chevelle, the Breeders banged into gear for tune after tune and finally started flying when they started playing Side 2 and Kelly stepped up to sing on “I Just Want to Get Along.” After blowing through the rest of side 2, they killed the reprise of “Roi,” then said good night.
Of course they came back and played a shit ton of more songs and two encores, pumping out their best tunes from the rest of their discography, and Kim performed an absolutely killer “Gigantic,” before finally bowing out just before closing time at the Theater. It was great to see the band joking and enjoying each other again, reliving their youth and playing like they did when I caught them open for Nirvana at the Coliseum 30 years back.
New Brunswick's fave sons and daughter Screaming Females scorched the opening slot as only they can, eliciting Kelley to proclaim, “How do we follow them?” Mixing up a few of their more melodic material with their totally thrashy early cuts, the band brought Brooklyn’s cool kids to their feet for a few and purged their inner Jersey Devils for 45 minutes.
As always, my mind wandered to the “What If ?” game and the inner old man in me was thinking about another Jersey trio from ‘90s, Sexpod, who would’ve crushed as openers for the Deal kiddies and crew given the chance, especially as I had my “foot on the gas on the Westside Highway" on the way back to the ‘burbs.
Autumn's here and Paul is falling hard for some excellent new music, including albums by Kurt Baker, the Julies, Sandlands, and Seablite, along with American Television, Cinema Hearts, Garment District, Gone Stereo, Grey Gardens, Grrl Gang, Morning Eagle, the Slackers, and Nineties alt-pop impressarios Teenage Fanclub. New releases keep falling like leaves, like the new albums from Dewey Defeats Truman, ska-punk legends Mustard Plug, Subjunctives, and Worriers. September also brings reviews of Bark, Brian Damage, Everyone Asked About You, Tim Kinsella & Jenny Pulse, Pale Angels, Graham Parker (!!), Smug Brothers, Stomper 98, and a single from Theee Retail Simps. Plus lots, lots more.
Read Paul's column here...
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Rich Quinlan has exciting new albums from Germany's Plattenbeau, glam punks Velvet Insane, deathmetal gods Cannibal Corpse, post-punk rockers Abolitionist, and upcoming Seoul's Dabda. He also reviews Colony Drop's exploration of all metal styles fused into an exciting new hybrid, as well as a harrowing and poignant project called The Darien Gap from well-traveled rocker Brian Moss. Rich also checks out Anti-God Hand, Johnny The Boy, The Oxys, the Mighty Bard, Bloodbound, Carnation, Necrofier, Tsjuder, Yakuza, Gatuplan, and 69 Eyes. Rich also continues his infatuation with the ukulele-playing Travels With Brindle, plus lots, lots more.
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Read Jim's interview here...
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Sean Coulter joins the Jersey Beat staff with reviews of new releases by Sadlands and Jersey dad-rock combo The Make Three.
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Read James' interview here...
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Read Deb's interview here...
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Street, his love of cooking, and his band The Expendables.
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JerseyBeat.com
is an independently published music fanzine
covering punk, alternative, ska, techno and garage music,
focusing on New Jersey and the Tri-State area. For the past
30 years, the Jersey Beat music fanzine has been the authority
on the latest upcoming bands and a resource for all those
interested in rock and roll.
Autumn's here and Paul is falling hard for some excellent new music, including albums by Kurt Baker, the Julies, Sandlands, and Seablite, along with American Television, Cinema Hearts, Garment District, Gone Stereo, Grey Gardens, Grrl Gang, Morning Eagle, the Slackers, and Nineties alt-pop impressarios Teenage Fanclub. New releases keep falling like leaves, like the new albums from Dewey Defeats Truman, ska-punk legends Mustard Plug, Subjunctives, and Worriers. September also brings reviews of Bark, Brian Damage, Everyone Asked About You, Tim Kinsella & Jenny Pulse, Pale Angels, Graham Parker (!!), Smug Brothers, Stomper 98, and a single from Theee Retail Simps. Plus lots, lots more.
Read Paul's column 
Rich Quinlan has exciting new albums from Germany's Plattenbeau, glam punks Velvet Insane, deathmetal gods Cannibal Corpse, post-punk rockers Abolitionist, and upcoming Seoul's Dabda. He also reviews Colony Drop's exploration of all metal styles fused into an exciting new hybrid, as well as a harrowing and poignant project called The Darien Gap from well-traveled rocker Brian Moss. Rich also checks out Anti-God Hand, Johnny The Boy, The Oxys, the Mighty Bard, Bloodbound, Carnation, Necrofier, Tsjuder, Yakuza, Gatuplan, and 69 Eyes. Rich also continues his infatuation with the ukulele-playing Travels With Brindle, plus lots, lots more.
Sean Coulter joins the Jersey Beat staff with reviews of new releases by Sadlands and Jersey dad-rock combo The Make Three.
Jersey Beat's James Damion interviews Darin Galgano, drummer of the NYHC band At All Costs, about the recent
release of the band's influential demos.
Read James' interview 
By Deb DraisinDeb Draisin interviews up 'n' coming singer/songwriter Julia Wolf, whose stagename Wolf has earned her worldwide exposure as one of Spotify's first Fresh Faces.
Read Deb's interview 
My Chemical Romance emerged from the fabled Jersey all-ages scene at the beginning of the 21st Century, becoming MTV fixtures and international superstars before flaming out and breaking up in 2013. Now they're back, and when their tour hit New Jersey, Jersey Beat's Deb Draisin wasn't going to miss it. Read her review and check out her photos 
When Tim Sommer was a student at NYU, he hosted Noise: The Show, which turned a generation of listeners (including your editor)onto obscure early hardcore bands like Flux of Pink Indians and Even Worse. A few years later, Tim had an A&R job at Alantic Records and talked his boss into signing four South Carolina frat boys with the unlikely name Hootie & The Blowfish. Now, nearly 30 years later, Tim has written the definitive story of that band and its generation-defining album cracked rear view, along with an unsparing look at the record industry of that era.
Jersey Beat's Rich Quinlan chats with Tracy Hightop, the veteran lead guitarist of Long Island blues powerhouse Jane Lee Hooker.
Read Rich's interview 
James Damion speaks with Michele Cruz Gonzales, the outspoken author, activist, teacher, public speaker and onetime drummer of the groundbreaking East Band band Spitboy. They talk about her music career, feminism, and much more.
Ricky Rochelle is a drummer, singer, songwriter, and now a newlywed and solo artist. We caught up with the veteran pop-punker to talk about his new release "Unleash The Demos," Ramonescore, and post-covid life on his native Long Island
Deb Draisin interviews Lizzie Edwards, the scintillating frontperson of NYC's Lizzie & The Makers.
