Los Straitjackets, The Von Ehrics

Fans of Los Straitjackets might have first come for the novelty, but they’ve stayed for the sound—a furious instrumental assault of twangy surf, hard rockabilly and psychedelic garage. Oh, the Nashville band still sports the Mexican wrestler masks and Chuck Taylors, and it still knows a marketing angle (can you say, “a wipe-out instrumental cover of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit'”?) But despite the band’s image being packaged with luchador trading cards, the shtick takes a back seat on 2009’s The Further Adventures of Los Straitjackets, a dozen two-minute instrumentals (and one 3:43 epic) that scream by like Link Wray jet-fueled for a quarter-mile primitive rock showdown. If you can’t dance to Los Straitjackets, get out of the way, or prepare to be surf-punk body-slammed.

Dallas-based cow punks The Von Ehrics open.