Times New Viking/The Axemen

Sun., Nov. 15, 8 p.m., $10, with The Mad Scene and U.S. Girls, Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 866-468-7619, kungfunecktie.com.

by Brian Howard

noise/punk
You could think of The Axemen as New Zealand’s answer to The Dead Kennedys. The reckless, shattered lo-fi art punk band formed in Dunedin in 1981 in protest of then-apartheid South Africa’s Springboks rugby team tour of the islands, and has raged ever since. Stu Kawowski, Bob Brannigan and Little Stevie McCabe have shuffled through a panoply of guest members over the years, and the result is a catalog that’s essentially a petri dish of virulent, smashed-up angst. Philly label Siltbreeze has recently re-released, in vinyl-only pressings of 500, two of the band’s early classics — Big Cheap Motel (an impromptu festival set protesting the fest sponsor’s sexist advertising) and the mammoth double album Scary! Pt. III. Consider this a statement show for resurgent Siltbreeze impresario T.J. Lax, who was not only responsible for discovering headliners Times New Viking (pictured) but more than likely had a hand in luring Kiwi expats The Mad Scene down from NYC for the evening.