If David Byrne, Slash, and Joe Strummer united to form a rock supergroup—and if, miraculously, things really clicked—that band would likely sound something like Aktar Aktar. The Chicago four-piece will headline Gabe’s this Saturday night, borrowing the best ingredients of art rock, cock rock and punk rock and mixing them into their tasty signature blend.
Their live show is notorious for its frenetic energy—just check them out YouTube if you want to be impressed—but they can scale it back, too, as on the hallucinatory, melancholy ballad “First I Was a Boy.” The band doesn’t have much of a following outside of their native Chicago (yet), so Saturday night’s show is a chance to see a local band up close and personal before they hit the national stage—as Aktar Aktar surely will.
Aktar at Aktar at Gabes, 6/12. With Without a Face and Wax Cannon. Doors open at 9:30 PM.
