Euro-punk invades Palace Billiards

Norwegian band Turdus Musicus will perform at Palace Billiards this Saturday evening, bringing their European brand of punk rock and hardcore to Missoula for the first time.

Turudus Musicus has toured Norway extensively in their 9 years playing music. However, their current trek in support of album Rockcollapse marks the band’s first tour on United States soil.

“It’s our first time here and we’re really excited to see how the American crowd responds to our music,” vocalist Carl Christian Lein Stormer said. “So far, it’s been overwhelming.”

The band’s mix of hardcore, punk and heavy rock is hard to categorize, Stormer said.

“It’s really funny to hear what other people say when they hear the music,” he said. “We’re having a hard time defining the music ourselves, and we’re not really trying. We just play it.”

Turdus Musicus’ live shows are “very high energy,” Stormer said, describing the band as having a hardcore ethic.

Although the band’s name invokes obvious potty humor, its intent was far different. The name actually means “beautiful song of the redwing” in Latin.

“We never intended it to be that, but we realized it pretty much instantly, what it sounds like in English,” Stormer said with a laugh. “But it’s a cool thing. It has that punk rock attitude to it.”

That attitude is what attracted Edge of the World owner Jake Barrow to the band. The skateboard shop owner first heard Turdus Musicus in skateboard and snowboard videos and liked it, he said.

“It’s definitely music for our clientele,” Barrow said. “They’re really good and not well known.”

Barrow is promoting the show through fliers at his shop, and an Edge of the World employee will also work at the concert, he said.

Being involved in the show was an easy choice for Post Boredom Riot guitarist Matthew Thompson.

“Turdus Musicus bring it,” he said. “Any chance you get to play with a band from Norway, you have to take it. They don’t play anything poorly in Norway.”

Describing Post Boredom Riot as a mix of ’80s-style hardcore and newer elements, Thompson vowed that, with or without pants, the band would throw down on Saturday.

“We have a penchant for taking our clothes off,” Thompson said. “Our shows can get pretty rowdy sometimes, and I’m sure this one will be rowdy on the pure fact that Turdus are playing.”

The show begins at 9 p.m. on Saturday, and admission is $5.

Stormer said playing this show holds a special appeal.

“We look forward to playing in Montana,” Stormer said. “It’s probably the place that’s most similar to Norway in nature and climate. It will almost feel like home.”