Scout Niblett

Scout Niblett is the nom de indie rock of one Emma Louise Niblett, a native of Nottingham, England (though currently residing in Oakland, California), whose raw, ranging, unhinged blues moans and wails place her in the same ballpark as fellow Brit Polly Jean Harvey, circa Rid of Me. Like ol' PJ, Ms. Niblett can make your little hairs stand on end with either an eerie whisper or a howl like an incensed Wookiee, and she most definitely possesses that aura of mental instability (we're no doctors, so we can't say for certain that she's totally, clinically fucking nuts) that typically makes for an unpredictable and captivating show. Niblett usually performs solo, donning wigs and skittering between her drum kit and guitar to bust out gripping, stripped-down compositions, but for this outing she's joined by drummer pal Jason Kourkounis (Burning Brides, Hot Snakes), who'll help her tear through songs from her latest opus, the Steve Albini-helmed Kidnapped by Neptune. On it, her powerful voice and knotty lyrics are generally accompanied by either a lo-fi six-string strum, rudimentary drumming that makes Meg White look like Neil Peart, or a roaring, Nirvana-worthy guitar-drums sludge fest. This definitely has the makings of one of the weirdest, and most intense, gigs you'll see all year.