Friday, February 1  9:30pm, $7
Saturday, February 2  9:00pm, $10

Wounded Lion (In the Red)
Wounded Lion is a scrappy pop formation with more layers than one might think. The LA-based quintet artfully blends crunchy guitar chug and caveman thud with buoyant pop melody and deceptively simple lyrics, uncovering wonky pop gems along the way. The songs hint at melancholy but simultaneously offer infectious choruses and exuberant grooves. The resulting sound is fresh, despite celebrating everything from the Velvets to the Clean, with some CCR thrown in for good measure. Wounded Lion's live shows choogle and rock, backing confident showmanship with guileless grade-schooler dance moves. The band pounds with authority, even while giving the sense that it's just barely keeping the rock together.

Dan Melchior Und Das Menace (appearing courtesy of Oakland's Stranded Records)
“Off-kilter garage-meets-country & western rhythms serve as the fuzzy backdrop for Melchior’s shouted vocals and lyrics that are by turn absurd and brilliant.”

"As Dan Melchior continues to kick the Medway gutbucket to the curb, he is also willfully absorbing all manner’ve underground cankerous crud along the way. For those endeared to wallet chains and crisp, cuffed jeans, this has been tantamount to heresy. But for thems what’s embraced the sounds of “the new Dan,” said aberrations are as welcome to caustic ears as a cold beer is to a set’ve parched lips. This here LP seemingly vibes from such leftfield Blighty heavies as Instant Automatons and L. Voag as well as the dark side of Alex Chilton (think Dusted in Memphis) and the 3:00 A.M. shudder of Prominent Disturbance. Within the canon of the Siltbreeze label, Melchior’s magnificent malarkey on Assemblage Blues has secured him a spot somewhere between The Shadow Ring and Jim Shepard. The pone don’t sizzle much hotter than there."

The Mallard
The Mallard are an inside-out-echo-laser-garage-psych-rock trio from San Francisco. Their home fried songs harness the naked abandon of 60’s punk (think earliest syd barrett era pink floyd), but inject the form with a deranged spirit all their own. Close attention to texture and dynamics allow the band to explore unusual terrain – to grant access into unexpected realms of beauty and terror…with dessert.

JUST ADDED!! Bill Direen (New Zealand, early Flying Nun)
"No artist that I know of more willingly courted obscurity in his early years than BILL DIREEN, in concert with his band the BILDERS. In 1980-81, this Christchurch, New Zealand folk hero recorded several EPs and 45s under a variety of names, with an incredibly disproportionate disregard for a popular following given the quality of his music – which follows a tight arc from “Run Run Run”-esque Velvet Underground noise to boozy pub rock and barreling right on through to punk. It’s all tinged with a smattering of weird church organ and a quasi-heavy religious feel at times, as distinctly “New Zealand” as it gets, though standing very proudly as its own thing. Bill Direen's story is arguably the most unsung of the great New Zealand 1980s outsiders (I say arguably because there’s also THE KIWI ANIMAL and SHOES THIS HIGH, not to mention THE GORDONS), and you’d be well advised to pick up the FLYING NUN series of CDs that came out in the mid-90s that collected his early works." - Agony Shorthand

Monday, February 4  9:30pm, FREE

later - PRS at 9:30pm, free

Punk Rock Sideshow

Tuesday, February 5  8:30pm, $6
Hurricaine Ru Paul

Wednesday, February 6  8:30pm, $6
Thursday, February 7  8:30pm, $6
Friday, February 8  9:30pm, $8

Colin L. Orchestra (ex-USAISAMONSTER)
Colin Langenus (born 1975, MD) is an underground legend, having played for 10 years in the world famous USAISAMONSTER. Releasing 7 LP’s during its tenure, USAISAMONSTER successfully toured Japan, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, Europe and England 5 times, and the States 10 times. In addition to the band, Colin has been heavily involved in the DIY scene, cofounding the record label MASSIVE DISTRIBUTION in 1994 and releasing over 100 recordings. He also cofounded an independent venue in Virginia in 2000 called the PUDHOUSE which featured performances by Municipal Waste, Lightning Bolt, Forcefield, Quintron, and many more. Recently he has stepped into the producer role on albums by Corndawg, Jimmy Cousins, and Shades. He is the owner and head engineer at St. Cecilia’s Studio in Brooklyn. Colin currently plays and records with CSC FUNK BAND, ALIEN WHALE, and COLIN L ORCHESTRA. He is most proud to have recently collaborated with Rhys Chatham and Greg Ginn, two heroes of his he felt lucky to be in the same room with.

“Musically speaking, he’s undergone a drastic transformation over the last year and a half. Kicking the noise rock to the curb, Langenus now oversees two groups: the CSC Funk Band, a large and unruly ensemble churning out eccentric Afrobeat for freakers and weirdoes, and the Colin L. Orchestra, another big band that produces a cloudy blend of classic rock, country folk, and Rhys Chatham-inspired minimalism” - Justin Farrar, The Village Voice