Last night, I went to see Shoplifting at ConWorks (hosted by the temporarily venue-less Vera Project). Shoplifting was great, as always; Devon Welch is one of my favorite guitarists to watch. The band always throws a dangerous dance party where the personal and the politcal bump and grind.

The surprise highlight of the evening was opening band, Kiosk (on tour from Australia), who totally stole the show.

They reminded me of Huggy Bear (a band I never got to see…sigh) only fronted by some evil, teenage version of Bree from The Fitness.

Finally Punk were inspiring in their own way, if not as musically compelling as the other bands. They’re a great example of the possibility and pitfalls of the DIY ethos. The band was occasionally brilliant, full of creative energy, they all played all the instruments, but they were kind of hit or miss. They did do a pretty good Nirvana cover, but if you’re going to dedicate a song to Seattle, just play the theme from Frasier, please.