Roustabout! returns to The Knitting Factory in New York City Saturday for a free all-ages show featuring The Spinto Band and The Teeth.

Although Roustabout! shows are primarily set in State College, organizer Jeff Van Fossan said he is excited for the chance to return to New York. Roustabout! shows in New York attract larger, diverse crowds because there is no cover, a rarity in the city.

"The last one we did [in New York] was over the summer," he said. "It's really a cool show because The Knitting Factory treats us really well and it's a free show so a lot of people come."

Because of the large population of Penn State alumni in New York, many of whom attended Roustabout! while students, Penn State still makes a strong showing despite the distance from State College.

Current students also use the shows as an excuse to trek to New York.

"It's a similar crowd as the State College shows," Van Fossan said. "A lot of Penn State kids use this as an excuse to go to New York City and we get alumni living in the city who come out too."

While Spinto Band has played Roustabout! several times before, The Teeth will make its Roustabout! debut, a proposition that has all involved excited.

"The Teeth are similar in manifesto to The Spinto Band," Van Fossan said. "They're artists who love to play music for music's sake. They're a band I've wanted to get at a Roustabout! for awhile so I'm very excited to have them play."

Spinto Band guitarist and frontman Nick Krill shares Van Fossan's anticipation of the New York City show and The Teeth.

"It's awesome because you get a lot of crazy people strolling in; it's a free show in New York City so it's a really diverse audience," Krill said. "The Teeth are a really cool group of guys, they play great music. It's kind of a Philly, New York connection; we have a lot of fun."

The Teeth have just completed a yet untitled album, which they hope to release Oct. 29 in Philadelphia. Because the band has spent a majority of the past months in the studio, they have not been touring, which guitarist and vocalist Brian Ashby says will change this fall.

"We've been working on the album all summer but we're shooting to release it Oct. 29 at the North Star Bar," Ashby said. "After the release party, we're planning to go to Chicago and back and maybe the south to really push the new album this fall."

While critics and fans have attributed The Teeth's gripping sound to influences such as The Kinks, The Velvet Underground, Nirvana and even The Beatles, Ashby said the band has developed what it feels is a unique sound.

"We have a lot of energy," he said. "It's exciting music with a lot of harmonies."

On its Web site, www.theteeth.net, the band describes its sound as "Wiry guitar lines and melancholy piano chords [that] tell tales of youth, family and loneliness. And when things get really hairy, the music can become convulsive, screaming murder about jealousy and love."

According to Van Fossan, the energy and diversity of the New York City crowd coupled with that of the bands on stage could prove to make Roustabout! a regular in the Big Apple.