Musical Christmas parties are in full swing this week. And if the safest bet is Automusik’s, praised by my colleague below, the highest-profile is no doubt 93-Xmas at the New Daisy Theatre Friday, December 13th, and Saturday, December 14th. Sponsored by local rock station WMFS 93-X, Friday night’s locals-only lineup presents seven stripes of area hard rock. Radio-ready hard rockers Breaking Point are the biggest band on the bill, but best bets may be the smart, tasteful modern rock of always-reliable Beanpole and the smart, tasteless full-on rawk of The Internationals. Guitar fans will want to check out ax-slinger Zach Myers. Others on the bill are Crippled Nation, Rail, and Sheltered Life.
Saturday’s lineup boasts Northern Cali rockers Papa Roach. The band burst on the scene in 2000 with their major-label debut Infest, a solid effort that established them as one of the leanest, toughest, and most gimmick-free bands on the nü-metal scene, with huge radio and MTV support turning them into major stars. The band’s sophomore effort, this year’s Lovehatetragedy, hasn’t fared quite as well commercially but may still have been one of the year’s more respectable mainstream metal efforts. Others on tap for Saturday are South African buzz band Seether and Baltimore modern rockers SR-71.–Chris Herrington
I can’t imagine anything more pleasant than celebrating the Christmas holidays with a trio of emotionless robots who can really get behind the idea of mindless consumption. That’s why I plan to get my regular Automusik fix at the Hi-Tone Café on Saturday, December 14th. Considering the many audiovisual surprises this entertaining anti-band have whipped up over the past year (not to mention their splendid Christmas card), one can only assume that the entity known as Automusik is even now whipping up something special with which to stuff our stockings. They will be joined by Robby Grant and his band Vending Machine, as well as a brand-new techno-rock outfit known as The Pelicans. If that doesn’t work for you, then maybe you should spend your Saturday night with the revved-up indie-pop of The Paper Plates. They will be playing at the P&H Café with Alphabetical Order. — Chris Davis