INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

All in the family

The Safes, ESW, Spacehooker
Melody Inn
Friday, March 23, 9 p.m., $5

The Safes is a hard-rocking power pop trio out of Chicago made up of the brothers O’Malley. Frankie, Michael and Patrick grew up with a classic rock-loving father who instilled within his sons the virtues of groups like the Kinks, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Chuck Berry and AC/DC. The family band is kind of a conglomerate of this source material.

The Safes lean a little heavy on its hard-rock influences, but the band also has a strong Anglophile sense of hooks and singing style. Building a fanbase in an old school manner, the boys have been touring relentlessly since releasing their debut album, the tongue-in-cheek Family Jewels (2003). Their latest gig excursions have the group playing songs from its latest release, Well, Well, Well, now out on O’Brothers’ Records.

Also playing with the Safes is Indianapolis jazz fusion band ESW. More of a goofy improv style jam band (think of an instrumental Phish) than a Herbie Hancock funk jazz ensemble, the group is a crowd pleaser and is fronted by the talented duo of university style jazz musicians Josh Silbert and Adam White.

The third band on the night’s bill, Spacehooker, out of Louisville, Ky., is an in-joke group that mixes hip-hop, country and hard rock in a similar vein to Kid Rock or Tenacious D.