Russian Circles.
Giving you the music a day early:
It’s the simple combination of three band members — Mike Sullivan on guitar, Dave Turncrantz on drums and Brian Cook on bass — that powers the linear, post-rock instrumental sound of Chicago band Russian Circles. The trio’s newest album is the October release Geneva: seven songs in 46 minutes from the dreary, Shining-themed opening of the tumbling roar of “Fathom” to the cold, metallic rush of “Philos.” Joining the band for a stop at Juanita’s are opening acts Young Windows with their Kentucky-bred noise rock and Coliseum, a hardcore punk rock trio from Louisville, Ky. The show kicks off at 9 p.m. with an $8 cover.
Back from the brink of musical irrelevancy, The Meat Puppets — one of the most influential alternative rock bands of the ’80s and early ’90s — is creating new music. Originally consisting of brothers Curt Kirkwood on guitar and vocals, and Cris Kirkwood on bass along with drummer Derrick Bostrom, the trio began as hardcore punks before experimenting with their sound, adding psychedelic touches and scoring a Top 40 hit with 1994’s “Backwater.” By the late ’90s though, Cris had become “a suicide in progress,” according to Curt, a junkie hopelessly addicted to heroin and cocaine. Rock bottom for Cris was being shot by a security guard in December 2003 in downtown Phoenix and spending time in prison for assault with a deadly weapon. But in the spring of 2006, Curt and a clean Cris regrouped The Meat Puppets, which had been broken up since 2002, with new drummer Ted Marcus. The band released its newest studio album, Sewn Together, in May, another psych-flavored alternative rock effort. The opening acts for the Meat Puppets visit to Revolution Music Room are local acts Big Boots with their power trio indie rock and Dangerous Idiots with their self-described “gulch rock” that is unlike any music you’ve heard but not in a “Lou Reed Metal Machine Music way,” according to Dangerous Idiots singer Aaron Sarlo. The music starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 advance and $12 day of for the 18-and-up show.
Here’s a shot of Russian Circles with a live rendition of their tune “Death Rides a Horse” from their full-length debut album Enter: