NOISE

You're headlining one of the University Theatre's three first-weekend shows. Having grown up in Las Vegas, how vital is it that the all-ages venue succeeds?

It would be huge. [Promoter] Brian Saliba knows what he's doing, so I think it should make it. It's also the perfect size—a 450-cap room—so they're not gonna lose lots of money if a band only draws 100 kids. I wish I'd thought of opening a small venue like that, or had the money to do it.

You guys spent the last two days filming the video for upcoming single "Insurance?" on the Strip. Describe the experience.

We did it at the Frontier, and it was awesome. The first day was all performance shots, outside in front of the giant Frontier sign, a big party with a bunch of cute, half-naked girls in lingerie standing around us. And then we were inside yesterday, in Gilley's and in the casino. We shot two 12-hour days, and I must have heard that song at least 60 times, but it was a lot of fun. Shane Drake directed it. He did the Panic! [at the Disco] video that won the VMA [Video Music Award], and he's an amazing dude to work with. Crowds of people kept stopping to watch, and they had no idea what was going on. They probably thought we were a lot cooler than we really are.

The Higher's first Epitaph album [On Fire] comes out on March 6. How big does the moment feel for you as that date approaches?

The sky's the limit, you know? I hope it takes off and reaches millions and millions of people. But you never know. We've just gotta keep touring and hopefully good things will come. I think the possibilities are endless because Epitaph is so good – they really know what they're doing, and they have money and smart people working behind it. [Label head] Brett [Gurewitz] is so into our band and into this record that he wants to put everything into it, and he wants it to take off. Any guy who owns a record label wants a mainstream success and he's had a couple, but he hasn't had one in a while, so he's ready. He believes in us so much and he's going all-out for us, which is amazing.

Orlando Sentinel: "Underneath the marketing hype, the concert had plenty of entertainment value. For a substantial portion of the near-capacity crowd, it was likely a first-concert experience, and the newbies got to see all the old standbys—backup dancers, confetti, smoke effects, fireworks. The stars demonstrated plenty of charisma, especially Lucas Grabeel, who as a pumped-up emcee, kept the over-the-top persona of his character from the film."

New York Times: "Most of the lead actors from the movie—Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Corbin Bleu—appear in the stage show but don't look like their screen selves. The girls look as if they are auditioning for a date with Donald Trump ... What must be most disconcerting for the thousands of little girls who will see the show is the spectacle of Ms. Hudgens, the movie's shy, studious geek, suddenly materializing in a strappy silk cocktail dress, thrusting her legs and generally comporting herself as if she were Tina Turner."

Everclear isn't the only band name associated with alcohol.

Absinthe, "Good Day to Die" (Good Day to Die, 1998) In which BoDeans vocalist Sam Llanas revisits his brother's 1976 suicide.

Iron & Wine, "Cinder and Smoke" (Our Endless Numbered Days, 2004) Mom's drunk, the farmhouse is burning down and somehow Sam Beam makes the sparse narrative sound like a folksy lullaby.

Das Bierbeben, "Schizophrene" (No Future No Past, 2004) The German band's Skitkapult label describes their sound as "rockversive booze-pop being pumped from an infinite keg." No arguments here.

Whiskeytown, "Bar Lights" (Pneumonia, 2001) Ryan Adams' simpler, more sincere version of "Friends in Low Places."

Old Crow Medicine Show, "Big Time in the Jungle" (O.C.M.S., 2004) The Prairie Home Companion regulars not only make original mountain music, they also travel back in time to take on the Vietnam.

Killian's Angels, "Cure (For What Ails Me)" (Killian's Angels, 2003) Sure, love might do the trick. But then, so might a nice hot toddy.

Gin Blossoms, "Hey Jealousy" (New Miserable Experience, 1992) How many times have we been there: "You can see I'm in no shape for driving, and anyway I've got no place to go."

LA-based husband/wife team Eli and Mary Chartkoff earn their persistent Modern Lovers comparisons on this sophomore effort, brimming with punchy garage-pop melodies and capricious lyrics ("Bring a glass of water to your mother's lover eating cake"). Standout tracks: perky opener "Spider in the Woods" and drowsy V.U.-esque closer "Let's Be Best Friends in Space."

THE AUDITION


CONTROVERSY LOVES COMPANY (2 1/2 stars)

Energetic pop-punk with a dance-happy edge. Lyrics concerning girls, teen angst and life on the road. Album art featuring casually mussed hair. The youthful Chicago fivepiece's debut breaks no new ground, but hey, if Fall Out Boy apes them (see: "Dance, Dance"), they must be on to something.

Screw that melodic nonsense that's all the rage in metalcore these days: Unearth vocalist Trevor Phipps rips his throat out hardcore-style over tight, precision metal riffs and double-bass-drum action on his band's latest. A little less nuanced than some of their peers, Unearth more than make up for it in ferocity and killer guitar work.