Can you really fault a band for being revivalist if its members aren’t old enough to remember what they’re reviving? Nostalgia for your own past is sad, but nostalgia for someone else’s can be a lot of fun. Sure, Glass Candy and the Shattered Theatre are derivative of the postpunk death-disco scene of the early 80s, but they’re not just playing dress-up in Siouxsie Sioux’s and PiL’s closets–they give off such a don’t-give-a-flying-fuck vibe they’re beyond retro, maybe just plain unhinged. These near Luddites are outspoken about their distaste for computers and modern technology in general; Johnny V, the former bassist who now plays no-frills glam-rock guitar, produced their live Smashed Candy EP (Vermin Scum) by synching up the tracks from four crappy tape recorders that had been placed in various corners of a club. His bass-ackward methodology produces weird delays that make the record sound cavernous and refreshingly confused. By the time hot-to-trot singer Ida No slinks onstage she sounds like she’s already hollered herself hoarse–her voice ranges from Ethel Merman bray to bloody-murder shrill. And whether she comes out perfectly coiffed or decked out in electrical tape and fishnets, by the end of the show she’s often half-naked. In three years they’ve gone through at least four drummers; they reportedly have a fourth member playing bass now. Not much changes from song to song–and there are still only about seven–but this sleazy formula is so yummy too much variance would be disappointing. Tuesday, October 29, 7 PM, Fireside Bowl, 2646 W. Fullerton; 773-486-2700.
