Anikus to perform in Dixon

From left, bassist Bob Turner of Dixon, guitarist Jason Stephens of Nachusa, guitarist Bryan Kreiser of Dixon, and drummer Mike McDaniel of Polo make up the band Anikus. The band will perform tonight at Beanblossom parking lot in Dixon.

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DIXON – For the band Anikus, the breakdown is simple: Their digs aren’t flashy, their clothes are plain, and their music, frankly, isn’t particularly technical.

But it rocks.

The band from the Dixon-Polo area was formed 4 years ago, initially based on the long-standing friendship of drummer Mike McDaniel of Polo and frontman Bryan Kreiser from Dixon.

When the two players recruited more musicians for a casual jam session in 2005, fiery passions and eclectic tastes quickly sparked a windfall of guitar-driven hard rock.

“The first night was really, actually, pretty magical,” said rhythm guitarist Jason Stephens of Nachusa.

The group took on its final form with the aid of bassist Bob Turner, also of Dixon.

That led to the recording of the 2008 album, “Welcome,” an 11-song brawl between interchanging guitars, insidious vocals and a rhythm section that boasts an understated swagger.

“We just want to write and play good music,” McDaniel said. “And we love playing it and, hopefully, that comes across to the audience.”

That’ll be the band’s mind-set tonight, when they open for heavy metal group Burn Grinder at Dixon’s Beanblossom parking lot, in anticipation of a new album to be completed before the year’s end.

That release will exhibit a new craft of songs by Kreiser, who picks up the group’s main singing, songwriting and guitar duties – a tall order in any group.

“You’ve got to trust your songwriter, and we believe in what he does,” McDaniel said, adding that the songs frequently take on a new face after the group contributes its sound. “It evolves over time.”

In fact, the group’s dynamic will evolve further with the pending release of the album as Stephens steps up to pen three new songs, one of which is known only as “The Ballad” and takes on a tinge of country – an addition that’s not necessarily surprising; although last year’s “Welcome” is based in hard rock. The sounds on the disc span from a pseudo-calypso shuffle on “Down” to the unabashedly titled “Reggae.”

At the center of virtually every song, however, are Kreiser’s tenor vocals, which contain the playful tone of Primus’ Les Claypool and even a seductive, grandiose style sometimes evocative of Bono.

But Anikus doesn’t thrive on elaborate arrangements, and the group’s prominent guitar solos engineered by Kreiser don’t quite qualify as stadium rock.

Tracks like “Losing Faith,” contain a full, backing chorus that’s part ’60s surf music and part ’70s punk rock, where harmonies take a back seat to the rowdy, barroom energy.

And that connotation’s not a coincidence. The group aims to re-create even more of its on-stage energy on the upcoming album, and takes pride in its attention to dynamics in concert.

“You have to keep the energy when you’ve got the energy, and bring it way down when you want to,” Stephens said. “And maybe I’m overstepping, but I think we’re progressing at that now.”

The band also puts a personal premium on their shows.

“You see a lot of bands [where] the recording is great but then you go to see them live and they didn’t have it,” McDaniel said. “Well, they must not have been able to pull off what they did. We don’t ever want to have that situation.”

If you go

What: Anikus and Burn Grinder

Where: Beanblossom parking lot in downtown Dixon, southwest of Galena Avenue and River Street

When: Anikus at 10 p.m. – Burn Grinder at 11 p.m.

Admission: $3 – 21 and over only

Online: www.MySpace.com/Anikus