Tonight: Birthday Suits, Strut & Shock at the Clown Lounge

(Birthday Suits)

What is the Clown Lounge? No, it's not the student lounge at a prestigious Ivy League university. ("I'll thank you not to refer to Princeton that way"). Rather, it is the basement of the Turf Club, and its also the site of two of the most raucously rollicking bands in the Twin Cities. First off will be Struck & Shock, a 50/50 guy-girl quartet who fall somewhere between good old-fashioned garage-rock and the forward-thinking righteous anger of Riot-Grrl. They have a song called "Sexy Never Hurt Anyone". Who am I to disagree?

Next up will be Birthday Suits, a duo more in line with the aggressive tempos and guitar tones of punk (which, as we all know, is garage's unruly kid brother). Three years ago, BS released their debut album called Cherry Blue. There hasn't been much album-length activity since then, but the band has been keeping busy by touring with the likes of Dillenger Four, releasing free downloads via RCRD LBL, and putting out a split 7" inch with like-minded garage-punkers The Blind Shake. While there may not be a whole lot of word regarding a Blue follow-up, listeners can still expect a high-octane show from Birthday Suits.

Here are the set times:

Strut & Shock (10:30)
Birthday Suits (11:30)

Clown Lounge Website

Birthday Suits MySpace Page
Strut & Shock MySpace Page