The House Café in Dekalb has been hosting some killer rock and roll shows for a while now. On February 8th, Milwaukee based rockers Maritime will be the headliner in a lineup that also includes Inspector Owl, Kid You’ll Move Mountains and The Company of Thieves. It’s sure to be a killer show.

Maritime’s music is one part post-punk, one part alternative rock and one part pop. If you can wrap your head around this combination of sounds you’ll realize that they are all entertainment. They have now released three albums and have made quite a name for themselves. The group includes members of The Promise Ring and Vermont. For more information – and to sample some of their music, you can check them out at http://www.maritimesongs.com/maritime.html.

Inspector Owl are hometown heroes in Dekalb. The band share the indie pop title in some ways, but they are perhaps more danceable. Their sound includes lots of keyboards and a bit of a progressive rock edge at times. You might hear They Might Be Giants or The Cure – or maybe both – in their blend of sounds. Inspector Owl’s myspace (located at http://myspace.com/inspectorowl) has some sound samples for them.

In some ways Kid, You’ll Move Mountains feel like they might be the common ground between Maritime and Inspector Owl. Their music borders on the odd, but is more hard rock oriented (minus the keys of IO) feeling rather punk oriented. They still twist things around in unique ways. For more about them their myspace site (http://www.myspace.com/kidyoullmovemountains) is invaluable.

The bill is rounded out by Chicago’s The Company of Thieves. The band has an extremely catchy, more pure rock sound than the other groups on the bill. Female vocals also separate them from the pack. Their website is under construction, but plenty of information (and music) can be found at http://www.myspace.com/companyofthieves.

The House Café is located at 263 E Lincoln Highway in Dekalb. It’s an all ages show and the cost to get in is only $8 – that’s two dollars a band. And in a certain symmetry the show time is also 8 PM. If you want to see some vital groups showing off their talents, this is a show not to miss.

All photos are by Mark Dawursk.