Steamboat Pilot & Today

Outformation

¤ Outformation, Southern rock and jam

¤ 8 p.m. (cover starts)

¤ Old Town Pub, 600 Lincoln Ave.

¤ $10

¤ 879-2101

¤ At the bar: Specials on Irish-themed drinks ($4 Guinness pints, $6 bombs)

Outformation, a rock band from Atlanta that draws on the Georgia jam band scene and its Southern roots, plays Steamboat Springs with its full line-up for the first time Tuesday. The band spent fall 2008 recording its latest record, which will be available for iTunes download Tuesday - a few weeks before it is released as a CD - said Outformation guitarist Sam Holt.

"I feel it's our best work for sure," Holt said about the new record. "We're more mature and more competent musicians and are more able to get out what we feel inside in the studio."

Holt and bassist Grady Upchurch lend their Tennessee upbringings to Outformation, giving the music a feel Holt describes as "rock 'n' roll with a Southern tinge to it." Drummer Lee Schwartz brings swing to the sound as a native of New Orleans.

Outformation is co-billed on tour in Colorado with jam rockers Tea Leaf Green, and will play its first solo show of that tour at the Old Town Pub.

"When we get to Steamboat that's our own show, so we'll be ready to kick it," Holt said.

Listen to the band at its MySpace page.

American Relay

¤ American Relay (Delta blues rock), with DJ Also Starring

¤ 10 p.m.

¤ The Tap House Sports Grill, 729 Lincoln Ave.

¤ $5

¤ 879-2431

¤ At the bar: TBD

After an extended hiatus through fall 2008 - drummer Alex Hebert was working in Africa and touring through Europe with one-man blues band Reverend Deadeye; guitarist Nick Sullivan was in Denver recording with Peña, a progressive rock band - the former Steamboat Springs residents of American Relay are back at The Tap House Sports Grill.

Rooted in Mississippi Delta blues, American Relay will play two rock 'n' roll sets, surrounded by sets from DJ Also Starring. Sullivan and Hebert pull a huge sound from their two-man band, channeling R.L. Burnside for a booze- and sweat-drenched set that doesn't let up until it's done.

The duo has talked about a vinyl re-release of its first record, "Corn & Oil," later this year, Hebert said, and hopes to go into the studio sometime in 2009 to lay down new tracks.

Listen to the band at its MySpace page.

MTHDS

¤ MTHDS, hip-rock and classic rock

¤ 10 p.m.

¤ Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill, 500 Lincoln Ave.

¤ $5

¤ 879-3773

¤ At the bar: TBD

It's hard to "genre-ize" the six-person band MTHDS, said guitarist and vocalist Johnny Schleper. Think live hip-hop because everyone in the band is a fan, but add in classic rock-style guitar solos because Schleper likes to play them. Throw in some reggae beats and some Latin influence and some funk grooves, and you get the blend MTHDS performs.

"I come from Pink Floyd and stuff like that, but I also listen to a lot of hip-hop and reggae," Schleper said. "The hip-hop element came from our two MCs out of Boston. They actually really enjoy mixing the two together."

MTHDS - named after a snowboarding trick and short for Music That Heightens Different Senses - does original work and covers of hip-hop songs, along with classic rock tracks by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, Schleper said.

So far, that seems to be working; the band has shared concert bills with The Roots, Ludacris, Eek-A-Mouse and MC Chris. Tuesday's show will be MTHDS' fourth in Steamboat, Schleper said.

Listen to the band at its MySpace page.