Sound Menu February 27 2002 Wed week out

BRECK ALAN — See listing Mon., March 4. The Grape at Vinings (Kuldell)

ROCKIN PONTOONS, A-SIDES — The Pontoons present the first night of their March Star Bar residency, offering a boatload of catchy, crunchy Southern-fried pop. The A-Sides make waves with big guitar hooks and sputtery motor-powered fun. Star Bar (Smith)

THE SADIES — In more jaded hands, the Sadies’ mix of sudsy instrumental surf twang, trad-C&W snarl and Nuggets-era garage rock might come off as contrived or, even worse, trivial. But the Sadies are from Toronto — and Charlie don’t surf Lake Ontario. So they can plead a certain charmed naivete when it comes to the rather tumultuous stylistic shifts that make their latest CD, Tremendous Efforts, a tremendous energy drain in the best sense. Black Cat Music and Joseph Plunkett and the Weight open. The Earl (Rowland)

34 SATELLITE — Filling the void created when the Replacements broke up and Paul Westerberg’s solo career sputtered to a halt, this power-pop outfit, comprised of ex-members of Screaming Trees and Whiskeytown, strikes all the right Big Star chords. With their thick, chiming guitars, sing-along choruses and just enough dirt around the edges, these guys are too talented to stay indie for long. Smith’s Olde Bar (Horowitz)