MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK
Juanita’s. 8 p.m. $18 adv., $20 day of.
By this point, pop-punkers Motion City Soundtrack are veterans of the scene, having long since made the transition from basement shows and indie labels to signing to Epitaph and opening for the likes of Blink-182.
The four full-lengths the band has released over the last decade have all been critically well received, earning nods for a catchy punk buzz infused with wry lyrical observations and a grasp of pop songcraft. Critic Corey Apar wrote for Allmusic that the band’s “My Dinosaur Life” “may already be the most perfect pop-punk record of 2010 — emphasis on the pop. This is the album that Weezer could have created if they hadn’t decided uninteresting frat boy pop/rock was the best way to play out the 2000s.”
The band’s latest, last year’s “Go,” was largely seen as a turn toward more contemplative and somber subject matter. Opening the show are Christian pop-punk mainstays Relient K and Austin indie-pop outfit Driver Friendly.