SFTU flyer (click to enlarge).

Heidelberg Club Above

Annual music extravaganza Sounds From Thee Underground showcases the best in left-of-the-dial rock, with an emphasis on Ann Arbor-via-Buenos Aires label No Fun Records. This year is a doozy, finding the Heidelberg Club Above channeling seminal punk venue CBGB in music and spirit.

Headlining the whole shebang is Richard Lloyd, a guitarist revered for his work with Television in the '70s, as well as the recently-reformed Rocket From The Tombs. This super-rare appearance — also marking Lloyd's first time playing in Ann Arbor — features another punk pioneer, J.P. "Thunderbolt" Patterson of The Dictators, on drums.

Representing the No Fun label is Chicago quartet The Dials. Influenced by '60s girl groups and '80s power pop, The Dials "make pretty pop-punk like a soundtrack for smokin' in the girls room: gossipy echoed vocals, polished guitar licks and a flirty Farfisa," says CMJ.

The Dials perform "Bloodsucker" live in Detroit last year:

Sounds From Thee Underground also features two great Michigan-based garage rock purveyors, Ann Arbor's punky Electromags and Detroit's glamtastic The Ruiners.

The Ruiners perform "Broken Halo":

In typical Sounds From Thee Underground fashion, one of the showcase performers will be unveiled as a new signee to No Fun Records, whose artists roster already includes underground favorites like The Fuzztones, The Hard Lessons and the aforementioned Dials.

Attendees buying tickets at the door can get $2 off — and honor recently-departed Jim Carroll, writer of punk classic "People Who Died" and "The Basketball Diaries" — by coming dressed as their favorite dead rock star.

Sounds from Thee Underground 2009: Saturday, Sept. 26 at The Heidelberg Club Above, 215 N. Main St. $10-12. 18+. 9 p.m. 734-663-7758.

Chrysta Cherrie is the entertainment producer/copy editor for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at chrystacherrie@annarbor.com or 734-623-2526, and follow her on Twitter @chrystacherrie.