Name Dropping

Be Your Own Pet

Comments (0) By VICKIE CHANG Thursday, Jun 22 2006

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What were you doing at 17—besides smoking joints in your parents' basement with your friends?

Really?

Yeah, well, that's awesome, but did you have a hit radio single in the U.K.? Or play on Late Night With Conan O'Brien (who, by the way, needs to take over Leno's slot like, now)?

Or how about Bonnaroo? SXSW?

Yeah, didn't think so.

I know the whole age thing for garage-band quartet Be Your Own Pet has been kicked about by every publication possible, but the Nashville, Tennessee, teenagers have managed to do all of the above and more—and all before graduating high school. And why not? They sure have the right elements down: dancey beats, the all-too-known post-punk shtick, killer surf-rock bass lines—and most important, all the necessary bands you can name-drop when discussing Be Your Own Pet with your hip friends. Let's see. Just off the top of my head: XTC, Lightning Bolt (per usual, feel free to substitute with any other noise-rock band), Animal Collective, MC5, etc., etc. And we all know how important referencing is these days.

Plus, lead singer Jemina Abegg has that whole awesome screechily hot—can I call her hot? Or is that slightly illegal?—Corin-Tucker-Karen-O-Kathleen-Hanna thing going on.

And that's three more references, in case you're keeping track.

Be Your Own Pet with Whirlwind Heat at the Glass House, 200 W. Second St., Pomona, (909) 865-3802; www.theglasshouse.us. Sun., 7:30 p.m. $10. All ages.