Playing in a band is supposed to be fun. So is going to see a band. Trying to describe a band like Kids in the Basement is fun, too, but a little more complicated. These guys are a jam band without the annoying bits. It's a little funky, without throwing a wrench into the whole rockin' apparatus or putting a kink in the four-on-the-floor drive. This is a fresh take on the bar band aesthetic, and should be dug firsthand.

Kids in the Basement, Ocular Panther, and Continental Drifft play Friday, January 17, 9 p.m. at Bug Jar, 219 Monroe Avenue. $7. 454-2966. bugjar.com; facebook.com/kidsinthebasementband.