Move over Cain’s Ballroom. Stand aside, Metro.  And CBGB, you must have seen it coming.  There’s a new place to get your fix of the hottest new music – emphasis on hot.  It’s the local Wal-Mart Garden Center.

Australian rock trio Sick Puppies played an acoustic set in this inexplicable location on Wednesday to promote the release of their new album, Tri-Polar.  The set also featured a signing and photo-op, where those that purchased the CD at Wal-Mart that day received a free autographed poster.

The band were in high spirits, despite the muggy greenhouse conditions, onlookers scattered among aisles and lawn furniture, and unaware shoppers weaving through lugging toilet seats, groceries and gawking children.

Lead singer Shim Moore did all the talking for the band, bantering between each song and affectionately poking fun at some of the children in the audience who weren’t as enthusiastic as the adults with them.  The band played several songs from Tri-Polar, as well as material from their previous albums, including the one that put Sick Puppies on the radar, “All The Same” (from the famous “Free Hugs” YouTube video).

The crowd of around sixty – give or take a few sleeping children – was subdued but attentive, and the line for the signing stretched through the Garden Center after the set.  Most of the people in line held copies of the CD purchased at Wal-Mart, which Shim encouraged to help the album’s chart debut.

Some, however, were reluctant to purchase the CD at Wal-Mart because of the chain’s practice of editing albums with explicit lyrics.  “I’d rather buy it at the show and get the real album,” said one long-time fan after chatting with the band.

“The show” took place at Cain’s Ballroom, where Sick Puppies played along with Hurt, The Veer Union and Tunnels To Holland.  Sick Puppies played a full set that showcased their energy in a way the earlier acoustic set could not.

Unlike many over-produced rock bands of this generation, what you hear on the album is what you get live.  These kids are a rock band in the purest sense of the word, with a genuine quality to their music that makes them endearing. Bassist Emma Anzai is a wonder to behold, an aggressive yet attractive and feminine presence onstage alongside Moore’s brash frontmanship and drummer Mark Goodwin’s driving beats.

One fun highlight of the Puppies’ set was a cover of Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name” mashed up with the  riff from Green Day’s “Brain Stew.”  “All The Same” got a rapturous response, with the entire crowd singing along.  Toward the end of the set, Moore stepped back for Goodwin to indulge in an arena-caliber drum solo and Anzai to let loose with some jaw-dropping slap bass licks.

By the end, Moore had heated the previously lukewarm crowd up to a jumping, screaming furor, encouraging them to release their frustrations at a society that looks down upon those who are “different.”  A recurring theme of the night, and throughout Sick Puppies’ work, is a refusal to abandon one’s individuality in order to fit in or please others.

The crowd at the Cain’s was certainly buying what the Puppies were selling, with the line to meet the band after their set still going strong as Hurt took the stage.  That passionate stance, however, makes the Wal-Mart gig that much more of an irony.

It seems we all have to fit in at some point.

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Sick Puppies are on tour through September.

See more Sick Puppies photos after the jump:

Every time someone might say Kill Hannah is down, they jump up with a vengeance and scoff in their scrappy Chicago way that they were just taking a breather.

The departure of guitarist Jonny Radtke — who left the band on good terms after nearly ten years to pursue his own projects — has left many fans biting their nails and fretting for the future of the beloved band.

No need to worry.  The boys tore through an energetic set on Monday night at the Diamond Ballroom in Oklahoma City, drawing on the support of friends, longtime fans, and new converts from the ardent crowd of Lacuna Coil fans there for the headliner.  (The strange mix of bands on the bill definitely led to an interesting demographic in the audience.)

KH immediately grabbed the crowd’s attention by opening with their popular first single, “Kennedy,” then continued with high-energy, rock-driven songs like “Believer,” and new tracks from their upcoming album due out this fall, such as “Acid Rain” and “Strobe Lights.”

Long-time fans who have heard the old bootleg version of the song “New York City Speed” will not be disappointed by the reworked and polished version of the track.  Oklahoma’s own DJ/producer/wunderkind John Bourke helped refine a great song concept into an aggressive anthem for this generation’s party set.  The song has “single” written all over it.

Another never-officially-released fan favorite has also been reworked and brought the show toward its frenzied conclusion.  “Welcome to Chicago, Motherf+cker” once saw the light of day tacked onto an older Kill Hannah release, but the band brought the song into the new millennium and gave it that final polish that will guarantee its status as a crowd pleaser for years to come.

Despite admittedly little rehearsal time, the band showed little sign of road rust.  Radtke’s replacement on this tour, a dreadlocked whip of energy with a hundred-watt smile named Gil Baram, seemed comfortable with Kill Hannah’s dynamic, and he jammed out an enthusiastic performance.  (The many young girls in the audience were quite vocal in their approval.)  The few miscues and nuances that were glaring only to a seasoned Kill Hannah fan will certainly be ironed out in coming shows.

(And yes, he’s a very nice guy as well.)

The entire band spoke enthusiastically about the new record, called “Wake Up The Sleepers” after a line from “Strobe Lights.”  They’ve moved away from dance-rock (think “Crazy Angel” or “Boys and Girls” – neither of which appeared on the night’s set list) to focus more on their electronic rock  and New Wave influences.  Those dance beats have taken a supporting role to the crunchy, layered guitars and refreshingly in-your-face vocals.

Kill Hannah have reached back into their roots to effect this next evolution to their sound.  Their energy and hopes are high, and it’s obvious the boys from Chicago aren’t through leaving their mark on the modern rock scene.  If you’re a Kill Hannah fan, rest assured — the band is hopeful, determined, and they sound great.

Wake up the sleepers, indeed.

For another take on the show, and the following show, check out Miss Julie M. T.’s writeup at Gossip [&] The Devil.

Catch Kill Hannah on tour with Lacuna Coil through July.

It’s been three months since Amanda Palmer’s blog about the future of the Dresden Dolls, where she described the issues the Dolls were experiencing and the reasons why partner/drummer Brian Viglione had said the band was “over.”

Despite the relish with which she has embraced her solo project and tour, it is obvious that the separation has been a painful one for Amanda.  She mentions seeing him at shows with the excitement of a kid sister getting a visit from big brother.  The joy with which she talked about playing with Brian on New Year’s Eve was palpable.

I think Amanda is just as excited about this  “reunion” as the most fervent Dolls fans.  Perhaps even more so.  Regardless, it’ll be great to see how the time apart has affected both Brian’s and Amanda’s onstage chemistry, and where (if anywhere) the Dolls will go from there.  Will they continue to move in their separate directions?  Or, will they not be able to stay away from each other?

Wil Francis and Angel Ibarra of Aiden get intimate with the crowd in Joplin.

The venue, coupled with the city and the weeknight scheduling, made for an embarassingly small crowd.  The opening acts–Civet, God or Julie, and a local opener–were largely forgettable.  What followed was not.

The prologue to the band’s entry, complete with voice-over from “The Devil’s Advocate,” made the situation that much more awkward, especially when frontman Wil Francis burst onstage to bring the set to life and was met with muffled yet enthusiastic cheers from the single row lining the stage.  Everyone else who had come were hanging out in the back of the cavernous venue near the juice bar (no alcoholic beverages–or swearing, for that matter–allowed here!).  Through the opening song, the disparity was obvious: there simply weren’t enough bodies in front to match the energy coming from the stage.

The band were clearly uncomfortable, and the show was in quick need of salvation (no, not that kind).

So Wil invited the entire audience onto the stage with the band.

Hot Topic-clad teens quickly abandoned their mothers and fell over themselves to scamper onstage, and everyone jockeyed for position in the ragtag semicircle that surrounded the band like kids gawking at a schoolyard fight.  Not too far from the truth, as more than one person had to duck Nick Wiggins’ bass, and Wil was hardly gentle with his moshing.

With everyone literally in the band’s face, their aggression finally came through, and the sweaty, packed, rough, high-energy vibe that is typical of an Aiden show was suddenly there.  One never knows what to expect from Aiden–especially their frontman–and they did not disappoint.  Instrumental acrobatics, obscene gestures, and even a spitwad or two kept the audience slightly off-balance, which is just the way the now-four-piece band likes it.

The disapproving looks from the juice bar became inconsequential as Aiden forgot self-censorship and tore through their set, including their excellent cover of the Misfits’ “Die, Die My Darling.”  The Foundry certainly had never seen the likes of Aiden within its walls before (and probably learned its lesson for future reference).  The small crowd left exhausted, satisfied, and more than a little sore–a feeling more befitting a packed underground punk venue than a cavernous Christian club.

The sound onstage was naturally not what it would be from the audience’s usual perspective, but with so much physically happening it wasn’t as noticeable.  It seems the band is still adjusting to the loss of their second guitarist, and with Wil taking on rhythm guitar duties, the richness of the band’s sound is diminished, as is Wil’s usual in-your-face connection with the audience.  Again, though, the unique situation made that less of an issue, as no member of the onstage audience was more than a few feet from the band.

After the show, I was told that the band is writing for their next album, which will be more of the “old Aiden” aggressive sound, but with the band’s more mature lyrical themes.  Writing as a four-piece will also certainly give the band a leaner sound.  The guys in Aiden are evolving at a blistering pace, and their prolific music output reflects that.

Aiden haven’t lost the scrappy nonconformist attitude that got them started, but it has been tempered by the experience and wisdom gained from a pressure cooker that spawned four albums in as many years–with non-stop touring in between.  That night in Joplin, they took a situation that was wrong for them and their audience in every way and turned it into a memorable experience for all concerned.

Click the jump for a mini-gallery of the very intimate Aiden performance.