JACK OBLIVIAN
8 p.m. Maxine’s. $5 adv., $7 door.
Remember that whole Garage Rock Revival thing that happened back in ’01-’03 and again from ’09-’12 or so? Probably none of that would’ve happened without The Oblivians, of Memphis, whose ’90s output set the bar for all the bash-happy, out-of-tune guitar abusers to come. There were other great garage rockers that had preceded them, of course, but The Oblivians were a cut way above the rest. They were like that rusty .32 revolver you bought at a yard sale for $25: cheap; dirty; of singular purpose and questionable origin; might just explode in your face. After a couple-five albums and a slew of singles and EPs, The Oblivians did blow up (though they played a couple reunion shows, and word has it they’re reconvening to record soon).
Jack Oblivian has shacked up with a good number of bands and has released a handful of solo albums, the most recent of which was last year’s excellent “Rat City,” which manages to fuse a sleazier “Some Girls” kinda vibe (“Mass Confusion,” “Crime of Love,” “Caboose Jump”) with sweetly forlorn rock ‘n’ roll love songs (“Dark Eyes,” “Jealous Heart”) and twitchy, brokedown blues (“Old Folks Boogie”).
You should probably just go listen to “Rat City” right now and then go see this show. The Many Persian Z’s and Jonathan Wilkins are playing too.
Check out “Rat City” after the jump.