A FEW YEARS ago my friends and I were going to a show at Kimo's – I forget who was playing – back when the people doing the door upstairs still dressed in drag. On the way to the club, one of my friends had been talking about growing up listening to Judas Priest and how it had confused him sexually, especially after Rob Halford came out. As that conversation was winding down and we were turning up the stairwell, he noticed the long-haired, stocking-clad doorperson and whispered to us, "Whoa, she's hot."

"That's a dude!" my other friend corrected him.

That "hot" dude was none other than Matt Shapiro, energetic concert booker and, more relevant to this review, keyboardist and backing vocalist for local six-piece Nigel Pepper Cock. And with this band, he has found the right gig, one that allows him to play dress-up on a continual basis. The band members wear different costumes – there's usually a theme – each time they play. The first time I saw them, they were posing as Christian rock evangelists, and their approach wasn't subtle. I thought they were a bunch of knuckleheads and didn't like them much. But I changed my mind when I heard their CD, The New Way, and became a regular at their shows.

At their recent Detroit-rock-and-rap-themed show they came as Kid Rock, Eminem, Ted Nugent, and the White Stripes (both of 'em). But at Bottom of the Hill, I wasn't sure what they were supposed to be. Five of them were shirtless, wearing only vests made of either leather or denim over their naked torsos, and half of them wore headbands; a sixth member was wearing a baseball uniform – I couldn't figure it out (although I was later informed they were probably New York gang members from 1979 movie The Warriors).

Still, even though they can look utterly ridiculous and are prone to goofing around and telling awful jokes between songs, it's another story entirely once the music starts. "Best hardcore band in the Bay Area" is how I overheard one person put it after the show, and I agree – except I wouldn't limit the description by just calling them "hardcore." Their energy, sarcastic attitude, and overall looseness owe a lot to hardcore, but their riff-writing prowess is very much metal.

Then there are the keyboards. Whether they're a nod to new wave or to those trashy Viking glam-metal bands from Norway (i.e., commercial black metal bands such as Dimmu Borgir), I'm not sure. But the keyboards coat everything in a thick, tacky layer of sleaze – a perfect fit for this band – and I think the reason Shapiro plays them is because it allows him to play and raise a fist in the air, as he often does, at the same time. Bassist Moz – the baseball uniform was his – used to play in the political crust-punk trio Dystopia. He also runs the Life Is Abuse label, which has released albums by Ludicra, Total Shutdown, and Lost Goat, and even a Melvins 8-track.

This show was a typical Pepper Cock set (even if I couldn't figure out the costumes); they took turns at the mic and made exaggerated, drunken rock-star gestures between songs. And as usual, the nonsense stopped when the music started, and they tore through a growing repertoire of loud, fast tunes. I'm pretty sure they played some new material as well as several songs from The New Way, including my favorites, "Coke Pants" and "Needles and Whores."