While working on his band's new album, Pat McGee has been doing rock star stuff -- lounging at New York Knicks games, working with a symphony, drinking with Johnny Rzeznik. You know, the usual.

After being cooped up in the studio, the band is ready to take its new songs out for a breather on the road. The Pat McGee Band will be playing at 10 p.m. Saturday at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave. Opening the show is singer-songwriter Alice Peacock.

McGee and the rest of the band have been working longer on its follow-up to 2000's Shine. But, he said, Shine seemed harder to make than the new album.

"We were trying to stay in the borders of an acoustic band," McGee said. The as-yet untitled follow-up breaks down McGee's acoustic sound, and lets the rock guitars flow.

"It sounds more like a rock band," McGee said. "There is more accessibility to radio."

The new record will probably be out in July, he said, and the band will tour heavily over the summer to promote its release.

McGee's next album is a bit heavier because of the inclusion of the electric guitar in the studio. Even though he added electric guitar tracks to Shine, guitarist Brian Fechino did not officially join the band until after its release.

"That whole thing is easier when you have a full-time electric guitar," McGee said.

The band has been priming the tracks on the road for a year now, and McGee said it's some of their best stuff.

"It would be nice to get a tune on the radio, to be able to keep making records and touring," McGee said.

The new songs do not follow any sort of theme, McGee said; mostly they are just about relationships, not necessarily his own.

"I think it's pretty wide open to interpret," McGee said. "It's hard to say in particular ... I'm a little bit more likely to be the observer type of guy. I'll look back at my lyrics and go, 'Oh, yeah, that was about that.' S"

The band's live show promises to be unpredictable, as the band always changes the set list.

"I really think that the crowd is a huge part of what we do," McGee said.

Opener Alice Peacock is excited to be bringing her heartfelt melodies to State College. In the fall, Peacock, who is used to playing solo gigs, opened for John Mellencamp. At those shows, Peacock started having a back-up band and she said she still can't get over how much her songs have changed.

"It rocks more than the record, which is really fun," Peacock said. "It just opens things up and lets them go in different directions ... We were playing in these hockey arenas, it was fun to stretch out and get our rock thing going."

Peacock is touring in support of her self-titled fall release, which included guest spots from two prominent artists, Grammy winner John Mayer and Indigo Girls' Emily Saliers. Saliers co-wrote two tracks on the album, while Mayer contributed backing vocals to one of the tracks. Peacock said she was introduced to Saliers through a mutual friend, but the Mayer collaboration came through her record label, Aware Records, which is Mayer's as well.

"Some different people from the label were like wouldn't it be cool, maybe he could put a harmony down," Peacock said. "I really like the texture of his voice."

Peacock and Mayer didn't meet until a few months ago, but she thinks that his inclusion on the album couldn't hurt.

"If I can get people to listen to the record because they are fans of him ... that's all very cool if it works that way," Peacock said.

Tickets for the 21 and over show are $10.