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The Fixtures
Perhaps best known as the band Jello Biafra was checking out at Gilman a couple of years back when he was allegedly beat down by some Arizona skins for being a "rock star," the Fixtures have been toiling in the DIY underground for nearly a decade. After self-producing a handful of records for a couple of tiny independents, the SoCal (via Indiana) trio finally hits the big time (by subterranean standards, at least) with Devil's Playground on Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label. The Fixtures' loud, fast, and obnoxious drama recalls punk days of yore when the Dead Kennedys crusaded for the right to spew America's hypocrisies in our faces. Venting with like-minded urgency (or with "non-candyass protest music," as described by drummer/vocalist Kevin Huddleson), the band's songs set classic themes of inhumanity to classic mosh rhythms. They zealously proclaim their position -- "We draw the battle lines between the wrong and right, the truth and lies" -- with a dedication to provocation like that of AT labelmates No Means No. It seems that the Fixtures have finally found a home among the stars of Biafra's rock 'n' roll empire.

-- Sam Prestianni

The Fixtures perform with Citizen Fish (among others) Saturday, Nov. 30, at 9 p.m. at Gilman Street, 924 Gilman, Berkeley. Tickets are $5-7; call 282-9784.