Form of Rocket/Curtis Jensen/Levi Rounds

One gets the feeling that Form of Rocket doesn’t care what you think of their music. That’s supposedly the crux of all rock & roll attitude, but these guys seem to really mean it. Their mishmash of hard and combative styles comes off as a true collaboration between individuals. They also appear to actually be having fun. Old bandmates, like ex-girlfriends, rarely go away entirely. Sometimes you meet them at a bar, have a few drinks and then you play a gig together “for old time’s sake.” In this case, former Form of Rocket guitarist/singer/lyricist Curtis Jensen will be sharing the stage—not playing with the band, but performing his own raucous brand of spoken word. Jensen has the right credentials for a poet, but that doesn’t mean that his verse is stuffy and academic; he’s more out of the worldly Beat mold. He approaches his poetry the same way he did his rock lyrics. This ain’t no coffee-shop open mic, and it ain’t a “reading.” It’s a performance.

He tends to get excited. Also sharing opening duties is local comic Levi Rounds. He specializes in the kind of jokes you’re going to hell for laughing at, delighting in punishing hostile audiences by upping the offensive ante. His treatment of hecklers has had him threatened with a knife.

It’s exactly the shared dedication to good times while assaulting sensibilities that makes this such a great cross-genre bill. It certainly won’t be boring. (Rob Tennant)

Form of Rocket w/ Curtis Jensen & Levi Rounds @ Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 801-355-4949, Saturday, Feb. 28, doors 9 p.m. 21 and up.