Damage Your Pants Tonight at Woody's

There was a time, in the days before gentle, melodic, feeling-laden indie music, that rock n’ roll was all about being loud, ugly, and only a little bit talented. You remember: Iggy Pop didn’t have to be sensitive or good looking to pick up women, he just had to spit and snarl. Johnny Rotten didn’t even need the women; he just spit and snarled for the hell of it. And while there are surely those of you out there who would swear that the latest Belle & Sebastian gave you all the musical adventure you can handle, we think you should trust us on this one. You need some of this in your life. Thankfully, Austin has its very own remedy, in the form of Damage Pants. They may not be the best band you’ve never heard of, but they are certainly the loudest.

If you’ve purchased each successive release of Raw Power, if you’ll get in a bar fight defending Link Wray’s claim to being the first guitar rock genius – hell, if you even know who Link Wray is, or if you remember, like we do, the first time you heard “Kick Out the Jams” and have had a soft spot for the word “motherfucker” ever since, Damage Pants is for you. The duo, comprised of Kyle “The Feature” Smith on bass and Robert “Free Shit” Davis on drums, pounds out the kind of loud, aggressive garage rock that none of your friends want to hear. Vocals, which are shared by the two musicians, are growling, sporadic, and mostly unintelligible. Davis simultaneously drives and holds together the music with tight, aggressive drum beats, while Smith uses his bass to provide the tunes in a display of technical mastery that belies the fundamental simplicity of good rock n’ roll. It’s a crime that they aren’t on a label yet.

Damage Pants plays tonight at Woody’s. If the need to rock out like you haven’t done since 1972 isn’t inspiring enough, you can at least show up and check out one of the best new bars in Austin. The show starts around 9:30, with support from Boone Graham (of Happy Families) and the Chorizo All-Stars. Toilet paper will be provided for use as ear plugs, or if you feel like you’re going to damage your pants.

[Damage Pants on MySpace]

Damage Pants, Boone Graham, Chorizo All-Stars
Friday, July 7, 9:30pm
Woody's South
Free

UPDATE: The show tonight has been cancelled, but check out Damage Pants on August 26 at Triple Crown in San Marcos with Happy Families.

* Written in collaboration with Jarrod Dunham of ATXmagazine.com