Fri Jan 2

Meow Meow

"Rock bands may feel likeÉ marriages to those involved, but they rarely act like divorces after the fact," Sam McPheeters wrote in the liner notes for his former band Born Against's 2003 reissues Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure and Nine Patriotic Hymns for Children + Battle Hymns of the Race War. "Not many failed marriages are followed byÉ such pressure to reunite."

For that matter, not many marriages short of the swinger set end with two primary parties partnering up with another couple. Wrangler Brutes forms a blessed union between McPheeters, former BA drummer Brooks Headley and two members of the short-lived black-humor band Nazti Skinz, Andy Coronado and Cundo Bermudez. Rarely has a group's membership so completely covered the spectrum between dead serious (Born Against's "Witness to a Rape") and intelligent absurdity (Nazti Skinz' "Criminal Crime.")

The Brutes display the same dichotomy, from the straight-faced hardcore on the band's 16-song debut cassette (now that's old-school), to its novelty tour shirt, with its gag design and blowjob-pun punchline. Ultimately, though, these guys are all on the same page, musically and morally, which means there's no chance of the kind of meltdown that cost Integrity its career at its Portland gig last month.

For any early arrivals curious about Wrangler Brutes' sound, earplugs will be an essential accessory, because without them, you won't be able to hear a damn thing after Fiery Cubist finishes its set. Known for drumbeats that resonate for a ridiculous radius, triggering earthquake scares and causing more incidental property damage than a slapstick scene in a glass house, this trio maintains melodic accessibility at ultra-high volumes.

Bearded bear-loving behemoth Joe Preston also rattles ribcages with his Thrones project, which balances its robust rumbles with entrancing ambient noise. The softer side of Thrones should serve as a salve-coated Q-tip at the end of this boisterous bill, one that might still be standing as 2004's standout show after every other concert on the calendar takes its best shot.