So they build their own instruments and light show essentially from scratch and their live shows are riotous and the name of the band is Lasers and Fast and Shit. Honestly, is there anything more you need to know to make you want to see this band? The Chicago group blends infectious punk with some stoner-rock indulgences to put together songs that are both energizing and usually hysterically amusing. Titles like “Beware of the Great Lakes Vikings,” “Keep the Water in the Tub” and “Lemon Bars” boast incredibly penetrative hooks that are so simple, so on-the-surface dumb, you can’t not fall in love with it. It’s an assault, but an endearing one. Consider “Lemon Bars”’s lyrics. “I got a lemon bar” repeats four times. Then “I’ll trade you a lemon bar” repeats four times. Then “Lemon bar for a kick pedal” shouts, you guessed it, four times. Then repeat the process, except replace “lemon bar” with “brownie.” That’s pretty much it, save for the “Let’s make a deal” coda. I want to know the story behind this song more than anything else in the world. I want this song to be transformed into a lemon bar that I can devour during the length of this song. I want to hear this song every day for the rest of my life. (Tom Lynch)
November 11 at Darkroom, 2210 West Chicago, (773)276-1411, at 8pm. $7.
Cooling It: A Preview of Colleen Green at Cole’s Bar When Green strums power chords or chiming notes on top of her backing track, you might think you’re at Ramones karaoke night and Madonna is taking her turn.
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
