Bad Livers

In the late '70s some music was classified as punk because of its angst-ridden, distorted aesthetic and its attitude of radical rebellion. Today, bands filed under punk are little more than poster children for a marketing zeitgeist to stay fresh and modern.

Details

Wednesday, Aug. 30, at 9:30 p.m. Admission is $8; call 621-4455.

Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St. (at Texas), S.F.

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More About

• Mark Rubin
• Danny Barnes
• Bill Monroe
• Bluegrass

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Fortunately, Bad Livers are an exception: The band's so punk, it's not punk at all. Danny Barnes and Mark Rubin's radical rebellion gives the finger to audiences that think banjos have no place in hip hop, and vice versa.

On their sixth release, Blood & Mood, Barnes and Rubin take an irreverent approach to folk music and come up with one of the most refreshing and entertaining releases of the year. In select places, the pair use distorted guitars and fast, slashing rhythms and even scream a little, but otherwise the music is punk merely by the fact that it shatters the conventions of Americana music. The song titles alone ("Love Songs Suck," "Fist Magnet," "Death Trip") tip off the irreverence found therein. You'd have to drink more than your share of moonshine to hear Bill Monroe sing lyrics like "My girlfriend thinks my head's on fire/ I string my thing with banjo wire."

See, Bad Livers are a bluegrass band, albeit one gone awry, a musical version of a rabid lap dog. While the group has always used banjos, acoustic guitars, and dobros, this release is augmented by techno gadgets galore (synths, drum machines, and loops), as well as snippets of old-timey radio shows, backwoods banter, and Texas twang. But beyond the "Revolution Number 9" aesthetics, you can find some great songs with tasteful musicianship. "Little Bitty Town," for example, shows that when main Bad Liver Barnes wants to put his angst behind him, he's capable of writing simple songs that appeal to even the most traditional music lover.