NEW YORK -- Nothing was going right for Pere Ubu.

Last Thursday's show at the Wetlands in New York City was their third gig in

less than 24 hours. The soundman was letting microphones feed back and the

bandmembers couldn't hear themselves in the monitors.

Lead singer David Thomas was getting testy.

"We have the technology!" someone in the crowd yelled out, a reference to a

song off Ubu's 1988 album, The Tenement Year.

"We don't have the technology," Thomas sighed. "That's the problem.

We're in the new dark ages up here, in case you hadn't noticed."

But on this evening, fortunately, even the dark ages couldn't completely

obliterate Pere Ubu's characteristically unsettling -- yet powerfully rocking --

avant-garage sonics. If nothing else, this is a band that is all about defying the

odds and making a difference.

"You've never seen anyone like David Thomas," said Amelia Juarez, a thrilled

fan, after the show. "He's charismatic, scary, funny, intense -- a great performer.

And the music is overpowering."

The gig was one stop on Pere Ubu's current outing in support of their new

album, Pennsylvania, released in May by Tim/Kerr Records. Earlier this

month, Geffen released first-time-on-CD versions of The Modern Dance,

the band's first album, and Terminal Tower, a collection of early singles.

Formed in 1975 in Cleveland, Pere Ubu quickly became one of the most

respected and influential bands of that decade. Their casual and confident

combination of pop melodies, rock dynamics, industrial sounds and propulsive,

skittery rhythms inspired countless groups, even if it didn't exactly translate into

huge record sales. The Pixies, Husker Du, R.E.M. and Sonic Youth are just a

few who owe musical debts to Pere Ubu.

From the beginning, Pere Ubu's membership has been in flux. Guitarist Tom

Herman has returned for the latest album and tour, making him and Thomas the

only original members. Theremin whiz Robert Wheeler has replaced Allen

Ravenstine on keyboards; Michele Temple and Steve Mehlman make up the

latest rhythm section.

But for all the changes, they still sound like Pere Ubu, and they keep pushing

their sound into unexpected places.

Pennsylvania, their 11th studio album, adds intertwining, sometimes

bluesy guitar lines and dense, electronic graffiti to the mix. It is an album about

the minute topography of a place -- a diner where the faces of the customers are

as familiar as members of your family. Pere Ubu populate this landscape with

schemers, crackpots and cranks, trying to grab your attention through sleight of

hand rather than the Big Pitch.

Pennsylvania is not about stories; it's about half-heard tales where you

fill in what you miss, where what was misheard is as important as what was

heard. It's a catalogue of tall tales, fish stories and local legends, poorly

remembered but vibrantly told.

In

HREF="http://www.addict.com/music/Pere_Ubu/Mr._Wheeler.ram">"Mr.

Wheeler" (RealAudio excerpt), Thomas tries to sell a lightbulb "that's

been in the family for 75 years." The hypnotic riff of

HREF="http://www.addict.com/music/Pere_Ubu/Silent_Spring.ram">"Silent

Spring" (RealAudio excerpt) pulls you in, while Thomas beckons from

the edge of the song: "Follow me into town." Later, he sings "Follow me as far as

this, that's all you need to know," a lyric that could

serve as an epigraph for the album.

Before the Wetlands show, Thomas and Herman offered some insight into

Ubu's working methods. Herman had two important pieces of advice for

aspiring guitarists: "You start at the beginning and you go to the end of the

song," and "The best part is the part that requires the least movement of fingers."

"Ubu sets for 20 years have had the same dynamic," Thomas noted. "You start

out rocking, you go weird, you go moody, you rock, a teeny little touch of

weirdness, then slam the second-to-last song really hard -- where everyone

thinks the second-to-last one is it. [Then] the last one you play really fast and

hard. And that's it.

"This tour was the first time we changed the concept, 'cause we were too tired of

coming up with set lists," Thomas added. "We just decided we were going to do

the songs in alphabetical order. And it really worked great!"

True to their word, Ubu opened the show with "Chinese Radiation," ended with

"Winter in the Firelands" and encored with a rousing version of "Worlds in

Collision."

As always, Thomas anchored the show, telling stories and entertaining and

admonishing the crowd. But as technical difficulties mounted, his mood

blackened.

The sound miraculously got better once he trashed his monitor, turning it upside

down onstage.

Despite technical problems, fatigue and an overall off-night mood, there were

plenty of highlights: a blistering version of "Don't Worry" from Raygun

Suitcase (1995), a lurching and electrifying "Real Time" off The Modern

Dance and an appropriately grinding "Wheelhouse" from

Pennsylvania.

Twenty-two-year-old fan Lenny Frome, for one, was impressed. "The new

album's great, but the mix is a bit murky and it takes a while to get into," he said.

"But live, Pere Ubu just rock. I don't know why they're not more popular."