Now that it's almost all said and done, maybe you are finding that your 2007 show schedule didn't meet your expectations. Either you didn't go to as many shows as you would've liked (bummer!) or you just saw a bunch of crap bands (bigger bummer!). But you can still make one final effort to end this year on a high note. Or, since this is a New Year's Eve show, technically maybe you are starting a new year on a high note (depending on what stroke of the clock the Black Kids go on). Either way you look at it, this Black Kids show will get you high.

Black Kids are the unsigned (and heavily hyped) Jacksonville, Florida band that takes familiar 80's synth retro rock and flips it on its ear. These are delightfully catchy songs that sound like the birth of MTV (think Simple Minds) meets lo-fi garage (The Ponys) meets dance-pop (Abba?) meets twee (The Go! Team) meets a high school sock-hop (which is what The Ramones were always about anyway). Weird, right? Well whatever they do, it works. We saw them in October at CMJ in NYC and it was JAMMED.

The three guys and two girls in Black Kids combine to write giddy melodies and harmonies (often sung into what sounds like a tin can) with swirling synth hooks. This is definitely optimistic music (the stuff that "twees" are made of), but it's never nauseating. There's a nice bit of Richard Hell's swagger throughout Black Kid's repertoire, giving these toe-tapping tunes a swift punk-rock kick in the ass. By the way, their debut EP has one of the most perfect album titles ever (The Wizard of Ahhhs.)

DJ'ing this evening's year-end festivities are our pals, Walter Meego. Hopefully amongst the hits, they'll spin out some of their original dance-electro jams. After all, I wanna be a star in 2008. Don't you? Thank goodness for a clean-slate.

BUY TICKETS TO THIS SHOW!

Black Kids play the Empty Bottle, on Monday, December 31st.