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GRINGO STAR
9 p.m., Sticky Fingerz. $7.

Little Rock likes Gringo Star and I suspect, judging from its regular jaunts into town, the band formerly known as A Fir-Ju Well is pretty fond of us, too. Truth be told, it’s one of the best out-of-state bands to stay in touch with the local venue circuit. Maybe it’s because the band’s sentimental about our neck of the woods. Or maybe it’s because the group’s jangly, British invasion sound is guaranteed to pack music halls with sugar-toothed pop fans. The band is charming down to a formula, full of all the ’60s idiosyncrasies the Davies brothers earwigged into your lobes as a child: taut harmonies, tambourines by the dozens and all the shaggy-headed swagger you can shake a Rickenbacker at. At its best, it’s a band worthy to sit at the same table as its Atlanta-based peers (and recent tourmate) Black Lips. At worst, it’s a fantastic throwback band that’ll make even the most assless shimmy along. Openers Catskill Kids are doing a great job sporting the crown as Little Rock’s “promising, brand new buzz band.” Fronted by the Cronks, a local brother and sister duo hailing from Australia, the act works in that tense, restrained, hook-heavy sound done so well by Montrealers and the Quebecois. Expect a lot from these young guns. The night’s bill is rounded out by fellow co-ed act, This Holy House, a moody, melodic Conway outfit that should be no stranger to regulars with a taste for the melancholic.

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