Tonight = More pop, less power

There are a couple of pop shows of interest tonight, albeit pop that is perhaps lacking in the power department.

I can't say I've heard a thing that Bettie Serveert has done in nearly a decade. But, they're playing at The Croc tonight with locals Lilydale. So, I headed over to their myspace page to see what they're sounding like these days.

They're touring behind a new record called "Stripped Bare Naked," and I suppose that's a reference to the fact that the stuff on their site sounds much lighter, more acoustic than the indie rock pop of their Palomine/Lamprey releases of the 90s. The stuff there didn't sound bad. But, it did sound a lot more polished, cleaner and "safer" than what I'm used to hearing from them.

This "new sound" (although they may have sounded like this for years, for all I know) is actually a really good match for openers Lillydale, who pretty much live up to a review in The Stranger that said they play "nice music for nice people." Nothing wrong with that!

Over at the Sunset Tavern, Three Imaginary Girls are presenting the album release party for Math and Physics Club, along with BOAT and The Seaworthies.

If you can't handle all the niceties going on at those two clubs, you could always bang your head at Moore Theatre to catch Queensryche. Actually, I'm not sure if Queensryche casuses one to band one's head, especially performing something called "Operation:Mindcrime II."

That sounds way too heady. Where's the shock, the horror... the SATAN of it all? As Bart Simpson once said, "Everyone knows the best bands are affiliated with Satan." :)