Few modern garage-rock groups have succeeded as wildly as The Black Lips have in recent years. When they started in Atlanta in 1999, they were considered more of a joke than an actual band, and they were initially more famous for onstage stunts (nudity, pissing, lighting things on fire) than for their music. Eventually, however, something quite unusual came out of the haze of distortion and feedback the group wrapped itself in, almost protectively – melodies and song structures. Not only was the anti-hurricane anthem “O Katrina” undeniably catchy but it also revealed that the Lips actually had something of a soul and conscience underneath it all. Refreshingly, the band has recently toured unexpected places such as Iraq in an attempt to prove that their love of fuzzed-out guitars and oceans of reverb crosses all borders, physical and otherwise.

Thu., March 20, 8 p.m., 2014
(Expired: 03/20/14)

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