A preview of last night's El Rey show from Entertainment Today"

Hot Dates
Ima Robot/Maxeen

El Rey Theatre

Monday, March 15

A winning combination of modern (by way of well-chosen nostalgia) pop, this one-two punch should prove real, good fun for those venturing out on Monday night. Maxeen, an Ohio-orginated punk revival act didn’t choose the usual suspects to pick their rock foundation. In fact, their poppy/punk melodies have more of the Police in them than, say, Green Day or even Black Flag — a fine choice for an influence in an age where we seem to be running out of them. Ima Robot, meanwhile, capture the ’80s at their most frenetic best, recalling bands like Devo, Kajagoogoo and Flock of Seagulls in both sound and style (check out lead singer, Alex Ebert’s kooky doo); and, from all reports, the band’s live show is supposed to be pretty amazing. This’ll be a good pick for young fans. As for those who don’t think there’s anything out there that’s good anymore, it’ll be a nice trip back to right around the time you think the music stopped. (Aaron M. Fontana).