Seeing Screaming Females on New Year's Eve will be a great way to RING IT IN. But in fairness, there are a TON of other bands we could have recommended for 12/31/09. Did you know Obits is playing at The Bell House? And Titus Andronicus& The So So Glos at Mercury Lounge? We could have picked those shows to go see too. But we didn't. We picked SCREAMING FEMALES!

Punk. Rock. That's what the Screaming Females are.

This fiery trio from New Brunswick, NJ is led by fiery singer/guitarist Marissa Paternoster (yes, a screaming female) who seriously lets it rip on stage (and we mean that in the punk way, not the post-Taco Bell way). Along with drummer Jarrett Dougherty and bassist Mike Rickenbacker, these three kids just kind of kill it.

Screaming Females definitely opt for the D.I.Y. deal, preferring to play all-ages venues and put stuff out themselves and book their own shows (though I wonder if they booked that massive tour with Jack White's The Dead Weather themselves - if so, that's mighty impressive).

This punk gets dirty in distortion, is full of bluesy barrages, is nastiest when it's noisiest, and, perhaps above all, rocks tempos that are TIGHT. So with all that, AND such a powerful singer in Paternoster, it's no wonder Mr. Stripes wanted them along on his hot-shot tour.

Screaming Females play Cake Shop, on Thursday, December 31st.