Hit Pick

, with the Down-N-Outs, Friday, December 31, at the 15th Street Tavern, reunite for the first time since the scrappy quintet officially left the garage for good in March. It’s not a complete reunion, however: Mike Jourgensen of Abdomen and William Hodo (formerly of Missouri’s Steerjockey) will fill-in for absentee guitarists Cheyne Bamford and Garrett Brittenham. Whatever the lineup, the band’s philosophy of the past and present seems best summed up on What Ever Happened to Fun?, the final Boss full-length released before the split. An infectious, pungent festival of gritty, guitar-driven rock and roll, Fun is just that, and live readings of the material should serve as the perfect noisemaker for New Year’s Eve. Friday’s performance is more than a christening of the new annum, though; it’s also a sendoff party for the bandmembers, who are slated to tour Europe in the early months of 2000, which just might indicate that the Boss men are planning to keep making music for a while. — Laura Bond