Playing garage rock in 2010 is a conservative, nostalgic gesture. But that apparent drawback hasn’t stopped Berlin’s King Khan & the Shrines from infusing the 45-year-old genre with stunning vitality and creativity. Their songs are riotous party-igniters in which indelible hooks emerge from artfully arranged sonic chaos—though the band can finesse a beautiful ballad, too. Whether they’re raising hell or lowering your panties, King Khan exude beaucoup soul, making the ineffable quite effable. With Unnatural Helpers and the Fresh & Onlys. (Neumos, 925 E Pike St, 709-9467. 8 pm, $15, 21+.)
Dave Segal is a journalist and DJ living in Seattle. He has been writing about music since 1983. His stuff has appeared in Gale Research’s literary criticism series of reference books, Creem (when... More by Dave Segal
The Sonics started in 1960, that makes it 50 years.