By Nate Follmer
Edited by Erica McNatt
It was a night of female-fronted rock as Nita Strauss brought her spring 2024 tour to Lovedraft’s Brewing Co. in Mechanicsburg, PA. Supporting Nita and Co. was the genre blending singer/songwriter Diamante and the “uniquely their own” Starbenders.
Opening this stop on the tour was local band Anoxia. Formed in 2004 by front woman Chrystal James, Anoxia has been playing post-industrial hard rock for two decades. It’s rare to find a local band that has a cohesive look and feel, and Anoxia really blends their look and sound together beautifully. It’s great to see a national touring artist giving local bands some stage time, and Anoxia certainly did not disappoint.
Next up was the star-studded Diamante. I first heard Diamante when she released her cover of “Iris” with Breaking Benjamin singer Ben Burley. It’s a great song, both the original and her version, so I was pretty excited to see what a Diamante live set was like. While she did not play “Iris,” she did play her new single “1987” and a mix of tracks from “American Dream.” I may have only lived in the ’80s for three years, but I have an unhealthy obsession with music that came from, or sounds like it came from, that era. Diamante has nailed that perfect blend of ’80s pop and rock, and it bleeds into her live show.
I have a confession to make before I talk about the next band on the bill. As much as I love this ’80s resurgence, Starbenders had somehow not hit any of my discovery playlists on any streaming services. Instead of binge listening before the show like I normally would, I decided to go into this set completely blind.
As I walked into Lovedrafts, I noticed a dark corner, which was the merch area, with a pig-masked bust and a tiny CRT TV flickering while displaying the Starbenders logo. Dark and spooky ’80s? Yes, please. Starbenders had the vibe down, but how would they sound live?
Starbenders does ’80s glam rock better than the ’80s did glam rock. They also don’t limit themselves to just that genre. Starbenders was more of an ’80s underground musical experience topped off with the glam and all wrapped up into a single entity. I was hooked five seconds into “Blood Moon” and wasn’t let go until they left the stage. Front woman and rhythm guitarist Kimi Shelter has a commanding stage presence. Her voice can go from gritty to angelic at the flip of a switch. Listen to “Seven White Horses” and you’ll hear what I mean. Bassist Aaron Lecesne feels like the glue that’s keeping the band together by interacting with every member of the band and crowd while doing laps around the stage. Lead guitarist Kriss Tokaji can rip through piercing solos like he’s channeling Jimmy Page and Slash at the same time. Drummer Qi Wei (Vicky) was recently added to the lineup as a permanent member but played like she was a founding member of the band. Her playing is tight and effortless. They have the look down, they have the sound down, and they absolutely have the live show down.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Nita three times in the last year. Once playing with Alice Cooper, again when her band played alongside Mammoth WVH for the first leg of their most recent tour, and on this night as the headliner. As I expected, her live show did not disappoint.
I feel like I’m stating the obvious when I say this, but Nita has a way of playing that makes what she does look easy. She’s all over the stage, flipping her guitar around, headbanging, and interacting with the crowd and other band members. Sometimes you can forget she’s even playing because it all looks so fluid.
This set started out much like their sets with Mammoth WVH but quickly got much heavier. “Summer Storm,” “Our Most Desperate Hour,” and “Mariana Trench” opened the set, followed by “Alegria” and “Lion Among Wolves.” Drummer Josh Villalta split the set with an incredible drum solo, with Kasey Karlsen of Deadlands joining the band to sing for the rest of the evening.
This is where the set diverged from their previous shows. The setlist nearly doubled, and Karlsen spent much more time on stage singing songs like, “The Wolf You Feed,” “The Golden Trail,” “Digital Bullets,” “Through the Noise,” and “Victorious.” All of these songs have very different vocalists, which allowed Karlsen to show off her incredible versatility and range as a singer. They unexpectedly ended the night with a cover of “Cowboys From Hell,” which sent the crowd into a frenzy. This was Nita’s show, and she could do whatever she wanted.
This all female-fronted tour is proof that these ladies can rock just as hard, maybe harder, than the males that dominate the rock genre. Times are changing, and it’s great to see these women getting the attention they deserve. Nita Strauss’ spring tour with Diamante and Starbenders runs across the country until the end of March. Check out the remaining list of dates and get to a show if there’s a stop in your area!