This Week & beyond at PJ's Lager House

Friday, August 21
Terrible Twos w/The Guinea Worms, Kommie Kilpatrick, Lee Marvin Computer Arm
8pm
$5

FOUR BANDS FOR FIVE BUCKS? What is this, 1975 Bowery? This weekend brings us Terrible Twos; one of the main components of local punk label X! Records—frantic, straight-up punk from this Detroit five-piece. Get your face blown off and then some; go to the bar for a shot of whiskey and then come back for more. "You're like getting electrocuted," they were told by a Green Bay fan. The Guinea Worms are in from Columbus, Ohio. They sound like urban decay, old houses and a little bit of ghosts. Hmm.. much like Detroit. This has the potential to rule. Kommie Kilpatrick is powerchord punk heaven. From the Metrotimes: "Simply put, while Lee Marvin Computer Arm has been getting exponentially better since its inception; the Detroit rock scene has come out of its boredom-induced slumber and embraced the unhinged, youthful power and passion of this band on the rise. It's a ruckus that bassist Zachary Weedon feels sets them apart from the increasingly lame competition. 'The band is a reaction to being bored with the present state of music," Weedon says. "Commercial music is saturated with phoniness, wearing suits or having a shtick. The problem is that there is very little resistance to it anymore; people just believe that is going to be the way it is.'"

Saturday, August 22
Timmy's Organism w/Daily Void, Dimeras, FASHION, Druid Perfume, The Frustrations
8pm
$5

SIX BANDS FOR FIVE BUCKS? What is this, 1978? What a superbly awesome weekend. Timmy's Organism is a relatively new project of Tim Lampinen (Human Eye, Clone Defects), a.k.a. Timmy Vulgar. Timmy Vulgar is Detroit's king of punk. Timmy is well-known in the Detroit music community as a man committed to a thorough stage performance. His energy is fantastic and any show involving him is inevitably a fun and slightly "interactive" experience for the crowd. Glitter, fireworks, paint and clothing are all fair game in most shows though TO offers a slightly less dangerous performance. Daily Void have songs called "The Man Without A Face," and "Tapewurm." Their 'Top Friends' on MySpace are Santa Claus, The Moon, Anti-Christ and Hugo Ball. Their album art looks like MC Escher caught in a nightmare. Their band photos look like final pictures taken on a cadaver. The "ha ha ha ha" chorus on "The Man Without A Face," sounds like the maniacal cackle of a serial killer stabbing you to death. There are bands that write songs and play shows and then there are bands that so carefully craft every aspect of what they put out they become the rulers of their own little world. FASHION is one of the newer additions to Detroit's punk scene--the group formed in February 2008 and just started playing around town last August. They take experimental, new wave punk to a place you have to hear to believe. Heavy synths set the tone for the female-fronted group that mixes classic punk and 80s style new wave witha taste of many sounds from the past 30+ years. FASHION is led by Shana Norgren and features Craig Brown (Terrible Twos, The Mahonies) on drums, Chris Fusion on lead bass (Tentacle Lizardo) and Matt Bergezz on synthesizer/keyboard. Druid Perfume is one of the artsiest groups in Detroit and are part of the Italy Records crew. If you speak, they may just stare. Self description: "light leaving the town of sadness, a fools errand,clown horn solos,blarring sax interludes, broken microphone cables, audio goblins sabotaging,swingin swamp circles,overdone goat homages, tales of great sleeping beast,studies of mold,wild dog halflings panting in heat,crowd surfing to the dirty floor, mindless holorin,flea playing the bass,things paul would want us to do,other worlds other minds other kinds other times,darker sirs and a misses, its all hear held imprisoned in a tiny dot." Do you understand now? Also appearing on August 22 are X! Records leaders Frustrations, featuring label founder Scott X!, who is also in Timmy Vulgar's Human Eye, and Colin Fontana of Fontana. Saturday is Day 2 of punk rock BBQ (see back patio).