Local live show

The Shods

Rocking out

Nobody wears their sweat (not to mention their influences) on their sleeve or rocks a house with more full-on flair and gusto than the Shods. With a spit-polished, welterweight toughness and an old-school purity of punk-pop purpose that evokes equal parts Elvis Costello, the Clash, and the Jam (channeling early Who), the Shods are one of the few bands that routinely lay waste to their own high-octane albums in performance. When singer/guitarist Kevin Stevenson shouts "I know a place to rock and roll!" he sounds like an upstart brat daring the Hamburg-era Beatles to tag along on his mission. And that's the Shods' world-view in a nutshell: it's all about rocking out ("I Know a Place"), flipping the finger to flavor-of-the-week alterna-posers ("The Alternative"), drinking bourbon through a straw ("Lucky"), and, uh, rocking out some more ("Well Alright"). If Stevenson's the sparkplug on stage, the rest of the core outfit -- guitarist Dave Aaronoff and drummer Scott Pittman -- are the hot-rod engine that drives him to a frothy Saturday-night lather. Hell, Joe Strummer danced to 'em when he was in town. 'Nuff said.

-- Jonathan Perry