What: The Generationals and The Turn Offs
Where: Mojo’s, 1013 Park Ave, Columbia
When: 10 p.m. on Tues., Sept. 15, 2009

A four-piece loud rock group, The Turn Offs might actually be comparable to the noise of “dinosaurs battling,” as their MySpace boasts. Each song had a pounding sameness to it. The set was especially short because the drummer had fallen sick. The lead vocalist’s turquoise retro shades and red graphic sleeveless top were the best part.

Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner of The Generationals were joined on stage with two females, one on drums and the other on keyboards. The latter was wearing a pink frock and had a giant white flower behind an ear. She played an instrument as delightful as her attire: a handheld keyboard with an attached mouthpiece.

The four musicians took a significant amount of time to get through mic checking. Once all the volumes were properly adjusted, it was a quick set of short, sprightly pop tunes. Every song seemed perfectly rehearsed and planned, which might detract from a certain type of live performance, but in the case of The Generationals it only added to their charm. Hailing from New Orleans, this indie group is something different. Their bouncy sound creates the image of pre-teen school crushes—innocent yet completely infatuating. Their music is also a throwback to the era of soda pop and drive-in movies. Rather than sounding dated, it is entirely fresh. The Generationals have put a new spin on Motown and look like they are having a ball doing it.

They played most of the songs off their newly released summer album, Con Law, closing with a not-so-angry “Angry Charlie.” In between songs, Widmer attempted a shot at some humor by posing the question, “So, how many of you out there are Team Kanye?” Resulting in little response, he laughed it off. Nothing like a happy pop tune to fill the void of a bad joke.