It's one of the artistic burdens that every original band must shoulder when the musicians are trying to make it big for themselves -- a dreaded question everyone must answer.

"Who do you guys sound like?"

Typically most bands are reluctant to pigeonhole themselves into a certain sound or a certain genre.

But The Teeth, the headliner for tonight's Roustabout! Valentine's Dance at the Darkhorse Tavern, 128 E. College Ave., has a creative way of dealing with that problem.

The band instead compares itself to a movie -- the Paul Thomas Anderson film Punch-Drunk Love, starring Adam Sandler.

"I forget where that first appeared," drummer Jonas Oesterle said. "We just kind of liked it. It's kind of a pain to compare yourself to other bands, cause how much does that really mean? We kind of latched onto that. It described the vibe more than just the technical aspects of the music."

Oesterle said that the band saw elements of Sandler's brimming anxiety in its own music and lyrics.

"The vibe of that was just some nervous energy that manifested itself in weird ways," Oesterle said. "It comes out when it comes out."

Roustabout! promoter Jesse Ruegg said that The Teeth have a very unorthodox songwriting style.

"Their song structures are kind of non-traditional," Ruegg said. "It's almost more of a free-form song structure. But they're still great pop songs with great harmonies and melodies. They have great energy."

Oesterle said that the energy the band receives for doing shows comes from a mission to entertain.

"We just try to play hard and get into it," he said. "We're not a shoegaze band; we try not to do that because it's boring. We just try to be entertaining in a way that it's genuine. But we do try to make a point to have a show that's worth watching."

Joining The Teeth at the V-Day concert will be fellow Park the Van Records labelmate The High Strung.

The band, which is originally from Detroit, has made some national spectacles to go along with its extensive touring.

When its old van got a little too old, The High Strung decided to donate the van to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame located in Cleveland.

"They ended up not wanting it," drummer Derek Berk said. "It was an independent donation. We drove it up the stairs and parked it by the front door. We put a plaque on it made out of concrete. It said 'The High Strung Tour Van' and said the years we used it."

The band has also made a hallmark of playing its shows in libraries across the country, which is a tradition that was created way back in its Michigan home, Berk added.

"The idea came from a librarian in Birmingham, Mich., which is suburban Detroit," Berk added of the location. "He is kind of a rock-and-roll fan. The hardest age group to attract to a library is kids in high school. We're trying to make the library a destination where kids think fun things can happen."