Austinist Show Preview: Grant Hart (of Hüsker Dü) at The Mohawk

The iconic Grant Hart, of well-earned Hüsker Dü fame, headlines for Grand Champeen and The Service Industry tonight inside the Mohawk. Hüsker Dü, for those of you who don't remember, or are merely too young to have been a part of their revolution, were one of the most influential hardcore punk bands in history. Not only were they one of the first underground successes to sign to a major label, but they were the first group to truly weave melody into the greater punkrock mentality. Basically, without their influence, we wouldn't have had bands like the Pixies, Green Day, and some little garage outfit called Nirvana. And Grant Hart, my friends, was Hüsker Dü's drummer and part-time songwriter.

Of course, Hart has mellowed a bit with time, so expect more blues-and-harmonica inflected rock with heartfelt and engaging lyrics rather than a bunch of screaming and thrashing about. After all, he's no angsty youngin' anymore, and his musical skills and tastes have grown up with him. But one thing you can count on, though, is a stage presence finely-honed from having nearly thirty years in front of an audience.

As for the openers, Grand Champeen, as many of you already know, is a fun-time rock band with top-of-the-register vocals and a reputation for bringing the energy to their live shows. And The Service Industry, a working class group whose name gets to the root of their most frequent subject matter, are the band on this bill who have the most to gain--this show is the release party for their new album, Limited Coverage, and they're sure to do their best to impress.