Published 2007-01-29T00:00:00Z”/>

Mike Murphy

Perhaps it was the subfreezing temperatures that kept the crowds from congregating at Off Limits on Friday night, but the adventurous bar-hoppers who were there got a chance to see several indie-rock groups on the rise, including headliner Bear Hunter.

First up were The Proles, who managed to fuse together the sound of an early Beatles album with the more contemporary snotty-yet-sportscoat-wearing sound of such indie favorites as The Strokes and The Killers. Guitarist and lead singer Justyn Bartels looked like a cross between Iggy Pop and Tom Petty, sporting a black leather jacket, white Chuck Taylors, slim-fit jeans and a hat that Neil Young would envy. His demeanor onstage was calm and controlled with his coarse voice flooding into the microphone as drummer Dan Taylor sang the high notes. The fluid melodies and hard-crunchy bass lines of The Proles had the crowd members banging their heads in appreciation. On its final song, the band unleashed havoc on stage, forcing Bartels to crouch down to play all the high strings. After a half-hour set, the band was offstage in a hurry, leaving a great impression with the audience.

Next on the ticket was Oakland-based band The Heavenly States, whose street-cred has landed the band as an opening act with The New Pornographers and a deal with the indie label Baria Records.

“So, we haven’t played in 3 months – it’s a little nerve-racking,” said lead singer Ted Nesseth.

But no one seemed to know the difference.

The band’s opening number got the crowd moving as Nesseth spoke hurriedly into the microphone, while Genevieve Gagon provided keyboard and high-pitched violin accompaniment. Nesseth jumped around on stage, showing his passion for rocking out, and hollered as loud as he could into the microphone.

With hard drumbeats and Nesseth’s shaky voice, The Heavenly States sometimes provided a sound similar to The Arcade Fire on the slow songs, but on the faster songs, the band could be compared to The Mars Volta.

Nesseth’s rapport with the audience was humorous at times. After six songs, he said the band only had two more to play.

“Make ’em rock!” shouted someone from the crowd.

“We’re ready, about to go into our ballad – you dick,” Nesseth said jokingly.

Headlining the show was Chico-based Bear Hunter. Though much of its music was great, the band’s first song of the night was an odd choice, as it didn’t represent what would come later.

Lead singer and bassist Maurice Spencer started the song shouting into a bullhorn, but much of what he was saying was lost in translation on its way into the microphone. An alienlike synthesized beat pulsated in the background. It felt like a civil rights protest had broken out at a Star Trek convention.

But after the opening song, the band hit its solid repertoire of slow indie ballads. Drummer Clint Bear was exceptional as he sweated his way through what felt like an experimental jam-band concert. Guitarist Chris Hunter provided dreary solos with intermittent spats of complexity throughout the show make Bear Hunter a sophisticated band.

Mike Murphy can be reached at <a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a>