Q: Why does Roustabout!, this town's weekly showcase of original touring indie-bands, have that darn exclamation point in its name?

A: Shows like the one on Saturday.

A trio of Roustabout! regulars, the ShakeDowns, The Five Maseratis and hometown heroes The Bullet Parade, will share a split bill Saturday night at the Knitting Factory in New York.

Leaving the comfort zone of the usual Roustabout! niché, the Darkhorse Tavern, 128 E. College Ave., has not fazed its participants.

"The atmosphere [in New York City] is somewhat similar, to tell you the truth," said Roustabout! organizer and promoter Jeff Van Fossan, who doubles as The Bullet Parade's singer and guitarist.

And that universal atmosphere seems to be party, party, party.

"It feels like a big kind of moving party," Van Fossan said of the Roustabout! transplant to the Big Apple.

And for ShakeDowns singer J. Navarro, whose band hails from Washington, D.C., having Roustabout! in New York is "a great step for a party."

Navarro, who is of no relation to rock demigod Dave Navarro -- "although I am a hell of a guitar player," he said -- described The Bullet Parade's sound as "protest rock with acoustic guitars and a lot of harmony."

"We've played with them about a billion times and they only get better," he said.

The Arlington, Va.-based Five Maseratis have a very different and refreshing sound, Navarro said. "Sort of Electric Light Orchestra, sort of Cars."

For the Masaratis' first gig in New York, guitarist Jorge Pezzimenti said to expect three-minute pop songs, one right after the other.

"We steal from all our favorite bands," Pezzimenti said. "British invasion bands, a lot of '70s rock 'n' roll, country rock. New Wave-y stuff."

And the ShakeDowns' self-described "almost destructive" set is punk energy but not punk music, Van Fossan said.

"They could just blow up huge," he added of the band, which recently teamed up with former Nirvana producer Jack Endino. "They deserve it."

Interspersed throughout the three bands' high-energy sets will be another familiar Roustabout! face: DJ Bobby Howsare.

"I'm just really excited to get to spin in New York," said Howsare, a former local DJ now living in Philadelphia.

Howsare said he does not have a set list of songs he will spin -- that he decides by the feel of the audience -- but will likely include "some '60s garage rock and some psychedelic stuff."

Pezzimenti said he realizes that Roustabout! coincides with the end of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, but gently urges people to take the road trip anyway.

"Crafts suck," he said. "Come see our show."

Despite the similar atmosphere, Roustabout! New York does have a few upgrades compared to Roustabout! State College:

The show is free, so your wallet stays just as thick (or thin) as it was when you left.

It's all ages, so your not-yet-of-age little sister has no excuse not to drive you.

And, since the show won't be in a town that must be asleep by 2 a.m., Roustabout! is finally allowed to stay up way, way past its bedtime.