A New Chapter

There are plenty of bald white dudes still plugging away in the music biz long past their artistic and commercial prime: Michael Stipe, Moby, Scott Ian... and Aaron Lewis. It's a fairly safe bet that Lewis' band, Staind,will never again enjoy the sales or status that 2001's Break the Cycle (and its ubiquitous hit single "It's Been Awhile") earned the Massachusetts quartet. And artistically speaking, well, they never set the bar all that high, did they? Still, through the thankfully brief reign of hateful, misogynistic nü-metal cretins, Lewis always played the "sensitive, wounded guy" — we think he probably really meant it too. The group is still touring behind last year's Chapter V, which consists of grinding, down-tuned post-post-grunge meditations and a few semi-acoustic ballads perfectly designed for Lewis' psychic bloodletting. Thus, Staind can live on, however tenuously, in this age of emo.

Staind performs with Three Days Grace, Hinder, and Black Stone Cherry on Wednesday, September 27, at Hard Rock Live, 5747 Seminole Way, Hollywood. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $39.50 to $44.50. Call 954-523-3309, or visit www.ticketmaster.com.