The Teeners Credit: Photo by Sandy Carson

The Teeners

Emo’s, Jan. 9

Peeling into the penultimate night of Free Week, the Teeners grabbed Emo’s outside crowd by the throat and crammed their filthy garage-punk manifesto into the faces of all that could take it. While vocalist Johnny Vomitnoise acted as seesawing metronome, the quartet perverted the raw, belligerent aspects of the Stooges and New Bomb Turks to create its saucy, jagged moxie. Shifting gears for a lighter, more experimental set, newcomers the White White Lights put on a set consisting of a fair amount of New Wave mixed with a whole lot of rock. Jennifer Matthews’ vocals were sexy and clear, radiating nuances of Beth Gibbons and Chrissie Hynde from her perch behind the stacked Rhodes/keyboard rig, while the rhythm section maintained a stoic elegance and the guitar kept things in check. San Antonio’s Hacienda merged poppy Beach Boys with early Elvis Costello for its collection of sweet, retro garage rock, while the Strange Boys’ affinity for Bob Dylan is nonpareil and illuminated each song with a folky flavor that complements their smooth incorporation of psychedelia.

This article appears in January 16 • 2009.

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