Considering that my first real concert without the 'rents was a 1986 Black Flag gig exactly like this one, I have a certain litmus test for what constitutes punk rock. The term gets thrown around a lot today — particularly the nauseating term "pop-punk." Most bands calling themselves punk just aren't punk to my ears. Memphis-based Jay Reatard, however, definitely is punk rock. There's a beautiful late '70s/early '80s attack in his short-burst tunes, yet they still maintain a pop songcraft. His debut CD, "Blood Visions," is pretty excellent, as is this face-flaying clip of Reatard taking a sonic meat cleaver ("My Shadow") to a Philadelphia crowd on the street outside Sailor Jerry's. Without question, it's also the first time I've ever seen someone crowd-surf in a tree.

There's been a YouTube parody, a New Yorker magazine cover, political cartoons (the latest is on the last page of today's Scene) and endless cringe-worthy jokes. So what's next for Idaho's PR nightmare? A wide-stance episode of "Boston Legal," of course! According to SpoilerFix.com, the ABC legal drama's Nov. 13 episode — "Oral Contracts" — includes this intriguing plot line: "Alan defends Denny when he is accused of soliciting gay sex in a bathroom by two undercover cops."
Set that TiVo. Or not.
(I'm waiting for the Larry Craig comedy starring Leslie Nielsen. Actually, they could probably just add a Minneapolis airport scene to the "Airplane" DVD extras.)

Boise blues band the Hoochie Coochie Men will compete in the 24th annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis on Jan. 31-Feb. 2. Over 150 acts from around the world will be there. The Hoochies need to raise $6,500 for five musicians to make the trip. There's a "Casino Night and Sterling Silver Jewelry Bonanza" fundraiser at 6 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Rose Room, 718 Idaho St. Or you can donate. Call 440-4590 for information.

Local metal band Acaideus is looking for votes to help it advance in the Bodog Battle of the Bands. The group already competed in Seattle and moved on to the Impress the Judges round. What Acaideus is hoping for now is online votes from the peeps at home in Idaho. To vote: Go here, create an account and go.

Recommending horror flicks is a tough task. It's like trying to choose between decapitated heads ("Re-Animator") and exploding heads ("Scanners"). Shucks, how can you do it? The trouble is that horror movies come in so many flavors. Slasher movies ("Halloween"). Splatter movies ("Dead Alive"). Slasher/splatter movies ("Maniac"). Exploitation films ("I Spit on Your Grave"). Religion-themed horror ("The Omen"). Possession horror ("The Exorcist"). Reality horror ("Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer"). Sci-fi horror ("Alien"). Me? I like it all when Halloween rolls around. But my all-time favorite horror movie (if not movie, period, some days) will always be "Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn." It's a work of low-budget brilliance. It's creative, scary AND hilarious. Actor Bruce Campbell is utterly awesome in it. The original 1987 movie trailer doesn't do the film much justice, but I can't post any specific scenes from the movie here without possibly offending someone. Even then ...

Remember Trevor Hattabaugh, the 11-year-old Boise comedian who got banned from performing at the Funny Bone for being too young? Not-so-fresh comic Jimmie "JJ" Walker mentioned Trevor (and Nampa!) recently on the "Late Show with David Letterman." Although I'm not so sure that's exactly how you pronounce "Hattabaugh." Good times.

Idaho singer-songwriter Josh Ritter's amazing concert got me to thinking this past weekend. (Generally a risky scenario.) While interviewing him earlier in the week, I'd flipped poor ol' Josh — a truly good sport — some, uh, manure about being ranked No. 97 last year in Paste magazine's list of the 100 Best Living Songwriters. A day or two after that, I reviewed Neil Young's truly excellent but but not quite perfect show at the Morrison Center and referred to Young as "the second most influential songwriter alive." Afterward, I received a polite, funny reader e-mail about that assertion essentially arguing: What about Paul McCartney? (While I try to answer all reader e-mails, I simply thanked the guy for reading and decided to tackle this one via blog.)

Boiseans have been quick to latch onto Moscow troubadour Josh Ritter. And why not? He's a vastly talented singer-songwriter who's received international attention. After garnering a following in Ireland (it's a long story), Ritter has gone on to conquer most of the United States. Speaking of conquests, his latest CD, "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter," was released on Sony Records. That means Built To Spill ain't the only major-label rock act in Idaho. (Not that being on a major means so much these days.) To top it all? Ritter has a reputation as a thoughtful, clever, down-to-earth guy. But you can tell that just by the way he handles himself on stage. (Or how he laughed when I decided he was the "Internet Dylan" because of his habit of using Wikipedia to research song subjects.)

Symphonic holiday headbangers Trans-Siberian Orchestra — or TSO — are selling tickets to their Nov. 28 concert faster than than they did prior to last year's annual performance. Each year this group plays the Boise market, they sell more tickets faster. Considering that I STILL haven't seen TSO (something always comes up), I can't explain the phenomenon. But I definitely plan to review the TSO concert this year ... maybe. Seriously, how can you NOT want to see a Christmas extravaganza that includes a dude who prog-rocks in Savatage and spent three years bending whammy bars for Megadeth? To be honest, something about this TSO video makes me laugh my arse off until I fall out of my chair.

UPDATE: Liars' tour bus broke down and they didn't perform, rendering this entire post irrelevant. Sigh.

New York-based Interpol has an '80s vibe, but that doesn't keep the quintessential hipster group from thinking in terms of the future. What perplexes me is Interpol's logic when it picked up Liars as the opening act for this tour. It could be argued that both groups are forms of post-punk, but Liars are OUT THERE. The Big Easy may be the site of a stampede as Interpol fans try to flee the room when Liars start blasting out their cacophonous delirium. Compare and contrast the two videos below. The first is Interpol. The second is Liars. On the other hand, Liars have shifted stylistically from album to album, so maybe they'll be ... dancier tonight. There are still tickets available to the show (8 p.m., $30 at the door).

Based on the fact that the Blue Man Group drew an impressive 6,500 fans their first time here, I'm not sure they can build their Idaho audience much more. But that appears to be the goal: Just one year to the month after that first Idaho Center concert, the Blue Man Group will return to Nampa. Ticket details haven't been released for the Feb. 1, 2008, performance, but I suspect they'll be similar to prices that first time, which were $51.50 and $77.

Here's the deal with the Blue Man Group: You either get them or you don't. I was surprised so many Idahoans *do* get these three mute, earless, cobalt-blue pipe bangers. I was equally surprised that Idahoans were willing to pay major-concert ticket prices to see them. But I was probably most surprised at how fun the concert wound up being. The Blue Man Group blasted out a creative, funny rock show with more visceral energy than many card-carrying arena-rock bands. And the crowd reaaaaally got into it.