If one of this week's biggest events (it rhymes with hairy and Haines) doesn't satisfactorily bring enough sketch to your life, checking out The Chinese Stars and White People Music in Lyle's next Wednesday night should probably do the trick. It should also rid you of any memory of midsems for a night, which can't hurt.

The Chinese Stars belong to that amorphous yet highly saturated genre called "dance-punk" or "disco-punk." All that really means is that the band likes to groove on disco-like beats but has an aggressive and noisy style of playing that relies heavily on the traditions of punk.

But Chinese Stars' lyrics and energy set them apart from most of these bands. Their lead singer, Eric Paul, has a reputation for energetic live performances, cultivated from his stint in Arab on Radar, a hardcore band from the late nineties. The lyrics vary from sleazy to somewhat innocuous and never distract from Paul's persona or wailing voice.

This means that the concertgoer (or the innocent Wednesday-night Lyle's patron) should be ready to cut a rug and break in the new pub with style on the night of its first show with bands from outside of Grinnell. Be ready to shout along, clap your hands, shimmy and get all that midsem-related stress out.