Guided by Voices

Wanna indie-rock your way into next year? Bob Pollard’s beery veterans are the men for the job, inspiring a particular kind of brow-furrowing, chest-pummeling devotion in the indie-rock kingdom—thanks in equal measure to Pollard’s shambling (read: inebriated) charisma and astonishing knack for drumming up pop hooks of crisp, clear beauty. Before Matador Records’ 21st-anniversary blowout last month in Las Vegas, GBV hadn’t played since New Year’s Eve 2004, and this NYE party features the band’s “classic” 1993–96 lineup—so you can fully expect to see grown men weeping tears of joy at this show.