Had No Doubt discovered Bauhaus before The English Beat, it might have eventually morphed into LA synth-punk outfit theSTART. Anchored by firecracker frontwoman Aimee Echo and guitarist/keyboardist Jamie Miller, the band has weathered label shenanigans, an ever-evolving lineup and criminal commercial disinterest since forming in 1998. But the band’s 2007 Metropolis Records debut, Ciao, Baby, felt like a rebirth of sorts—if not a time-warp back to the 1980s, when jagged synths, throbbing beats and coquettish female vocalists were ubiquitous. Accordingly, theSTART live experience is a nonstop dance party consisting of Baby’s gothic discotheque romps, electro-punk chestnuts from 2001’s ahead-of-its-time Shakedown! and—if the audience is lucky—a killer cover of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Cities in Dust.”
With The Day After ..., Ultraviolet. January 19, 10 p.m., $5. Beauty Bar, 598-1965.