When friends travel around the country together in tightly packed vans, it's all but expected that the bunch will form intimate and unexplainable bonds they'll retain for the rest of their lives.
The members of the Pennsylvania indie quartet Drink Up Buttercup have been traveling and playing shows together for years, and they know this bond all too well.
"We need our VHS tapes and regular Nintendo in the van to make sure we don't kill each other," said Ben Money, bassist and keyboardist for the band. "That VCR was a godsend."
Though Drink Up Buttercup is based relatively close to State College, the group hasn't performed in town for quite a while, Money said.
That will change tonight, when the band takes the stage with local group The Surgical Staff at 10 p.m. at 797 Lounge, 224 W. College Ave.
The absence can be chalked up to illness, which Money said forced the group to cancel its last show. That was unfortunate, Money said, because the group has seen some of its best crowd reactions in State College.
The band's music is often compared to the Beatles, and Money would rather be compared to the "greats" than to current trends. However, he thinks the band has developed a sound that is all its own.
He's inspired by bands like Queen, Queens of the Stone Age and Joy Division -- they all ignored the popular sounds of their respective times to explore the sounds they were interested in, he said.
The band is also influenced by stand-up comedy and talk radio. The live performances Drink Up Buttercup puts on are much more intense than most bands today, Money said -- band members often have to calm each other down between songs.
"We have a lot of pent-up aggression," Money said. "People don't want to perform anymore, they just want to stand on stage and play their music. It's like making love. People are like, 'Oh, let's play a song that sounds exactly like the last song' -- if that was your girl, she'd be pissed."
Roustabout! promoter Jesse Ruegg, who booked tonight's show, said his company has worked with the band before and was very pleased with the turnout.
"What they're doing is really a unique thing," Ruegg said. "In an era where so much has already been done, they've set themselves apart and shown a lot of unique character and originality."
The show marks Roustabout!'s first partnership with the 797 Lounge.
Ruegg said he hopes to work with the venue again if the show goes well.
