Happy as a …

People don't seem to like writing about Shannon and the Clams: Sometimes it's better, much better, to just stick something in your ear. So we apologize: You're gonna have to put up with our description, no ear candy. Problem is, you'll never believe how good this band is; you have to hear it to really understand. You probably think, for example, that they just don't, couldn't, make 'em like Ronnie Spector anymore. But the truth is that Shannon Clam is the alpha and omega of girl-group soundalike singers, wailing and cooing like a right-now Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las, and there's no higher compliment we can give. (We're all agreed that girl-group and garage rock shared a lot of dumb-fun terrain with punk, right?) The rest of the band is garage-pop Ramones-y perfection, pumping out all the surfy guitar, spare-ass drumming, and backup "waaas" anyone could want. Overall, the sound is far better (aka more scratchy), more sugary, and more teenage delinquency-inducing than you'll believe.

Magic Bullets, Bridez, and DJ Dirty Laundry share the stage.
Fri., June 26, 10 p.m., 2009