Sat, Aug 29, Druglords of the Avenues

Johnny Bonnel knows his range and is gladly sticking to it. With a brisk, gruff call best compared to the unrefined tones of early Mike Ness, the punk-rock drifter from Swingin’ Utters has perfected his pub-rock-ready angle by singing about hard times and harder drinking. Now, he and four Oakland comrades carry on that gritty tradition in Druglords: Feisty guitars accelerate, curve and kick while Bonnel shouts his throat raw. As the recently formed act has only an EP (Sing Songs) to their credit so far, it’ll be anyone’s guess as to whether their set will stretch past seven tunes. 7431 Madison Avenue in Citrus Heights; (916) 967-5464; www.myspace.com/druglordsoftheavenue.