Texas Platters

Automusik, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth

Emo's, Jan. 7

While Friday and Saturday nights at Emo's were a nightmare for claustrophobes, 007 shows promise with the Flood's deluge of are-we-there-yet? jams, boy/girl duo Full Stride's metallic hellfire, Lomita's country drone, and the Lord Henry's dance dance revolution. The Crack Pipes' solid soul revue on Saturday was also a highlight after their six-month absence, and Ray Pride & Co. still had the fire. Sunday, you could actually breathe without some dude's ironic mustache in your gin and tonic. Chicken Ranch Records pecked inside: Mr. Lewis & the Funeral Five's polka/lounge/murder ballads stung like Molotov cocktails thrown through the window of a church. Synchronized trio Automusik – two begoggled frauen dressed in black Roxy Music-esque SS outfits (aka the "female rock units") and one mad-beat scientist at the helm – took Kraftwerk's schtick and turned it into a lesson in robotic mind control. Mannequin heads lay on tables, and TV screens flashed subliminal messages ("Robots enjoy explosives"). There was a hip-hop breakdown on the theremin, a plea for Justin Timberlake's death to the tune of "We've Got the Beat," and a generous offer: "Our genitals will be available to females after the show." Song after song, they verbally assaulted and insulted the audience members. Very German, very now. In the Lounge, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth had a posse and were a little less composed: eight members, three singers, two drummers, an actual mosh pit. It was like "We Are the World" for thrash fans. The screams of singer George Dishner, plus guests Devon and Dustin (Best Fwends/the Sneezes), were still bloodcurdling by the time they stumbled into closer "Bananafana," the best song off their debut, Snacks. Half the band was in the crowd, beer and fists flying.