MU330

If the third wave of ska is over, either nobody told MU330, or it simply doesn't care. The latter option must be true; in the fourteen years since their first album, the greatest hyperactive horn-tooters in St. Louis have unapologetically crafted a brand of highly damaged ska. Fueled by Dan Potthast's twisted guitar chords and sharp tongue — Weezer and Oingo Boingo are obvious reference points — the band displays a maturity and depth rarely seen in the emo-by-numbers bands that most musicians formed after quitting their ska bands. It's been a while since MU330's last album (2002's Ultra Panic), but the band is proving its disinterest in slowing down at an afternoon barbecue show at Off Broadway. After all, nothing says "summer" like grilled meats and up beats.