March 14. In addition to X, Black Flag, T.S.O.L., Agent Orange, and the Circle Jerks, Southern California punk rock in the 1980s was defined by Channel 3, who here hit the Low Beat. Formed in the Los Angeles suburb of Cerritos in 1980 by Mike Magrann (vocals, guitar) and Kimm Gardner (guitar), the band developed an angry-but-occasionally-melodic sound that caught the attention of the seminal Posh Boy label, which released their self-titled debut the following year. Home to the seething classics "I've Got a Gun" and "Manzanar," the EP is a hands-down essential blast of LA punk, as are 1982's Fear of Life and 1983's After the Lights Go Out. Channel 3 took an ill-advised turn into college radio pop near the middle of the decade, but they've since soldiered on and returned to their rabid roots. (Idlehands, Happy Body Slow Brain, Blokes, and the Machina rock March 9; Freedy Johnston falls in March 19.) 8pm. Call for ticket prices. Albany. (518) 432-6572; Thelowbeat.com.
