Tonight: The Cutters + The Mahas + Oberhofer + Tapes ‘N Tapes + Broken Social Scene + More

Yep, I know it’s a Thursday (February 17th, to be precise), but there’s some surprisingly large-ish stuff going on this very evening, even before ye olde weekende hits with all its might. Here’s what’s on:

The Cutters (tour kickoff)/The Mahas/The Examples/Full Rainbows @ The Mink
Okay, so this show’s where I’ll be tonight — no, seriously; look for the guy with the “I Drink Your Milkshake.” t-shirt, and you will most likely be staring at yours truly. Come say “hi,” and I’ll apologize in advance for looking like a lunatic. (Of course, now that I’m putting this out there, I’m already feeling a paranoiac twitch, but eh.)

Unfortunately, {Something Fierce}, who were honestly the biggest draw for me on this one, dropped off the bill, but it’s still a pretty great bill. I’ve heard great things about {The Cutters}, and I was a pretty big fan of DC’s The Points (one member of which is now in this band), so I’m psyched to finally see ’em. Plus, there’s {The Mahas}, whose recent Dead of Night 7″ impressed me quite a damn bit; it’ll be cool to see them again now that I’m a bit more familiar with the band. Should be a good one…

Tapes ‘N Tapes/Oberhofer/Tax the Wolf @ Fitzgerald’s
Argh, argh, argh. I got sent a copy of Oberhofer‘s insanely-titled 2010 EP oOOOoOOOo a long while back and kept meaning to listen to it, but…well, time just slips away. So I’m listening to it right freaking now and kicking myself for waiting so long, because it’s some genuinely neat, utterly loopy pop that’s split between electro-cized jams and sweet-hearted indie fuzz.

Of course, they’re not the only people playing — the headliner’s actually Tapes ‘N Tapes, who I’ve been intrigued by when I’ve heard ’em previously but hadn’t paid a whole lot of attention to. They do a nice variety of the rough-and-jangly, half-yodeled pop thing, almost like they should be coming out of Montreal instead of Minneapolis. And hey, if you want to get into the show free, the band’s doing a giveaway right now on their Myspace page.

Broken Social Scene/Zeus @ Warehouse Live
I’ll be honest: I was somewhat underwhelmed by Broken Social Scene when I caught ’em at the Free Press Summerfest last year. Granted, I’m only a casual fan, having heard bits & pieces of several releases over the years but only actually own You Forgot It In People, so I can fully understand how the band’s had to move on from the songs I liked back then. I just wasn’t figuring on them being a jangly guitar-pop band with handlebar mustaches, that’s all.

But all that said, the recorded stuff I have heard still makes me swoon every damn time, especially “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” (yeah, yeah, whatever) and “KC Accidental”.

Runners-Up:
Streets Have Soul Da 3rd, featuring Jimbo Huerra, Ameche, Jerome Washington, & Free Radicals @ Taft Street Coffee (2115 Taft; 3-11PM)
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals/Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights @ House of Blues