Genre - Rogue Bar, Scottsdale - Friday, August 30

The Moog synthesizer is responsible for revamping '70s music and inspiring the decade of electronic music that followed. A similar music revolution is currently underway--the laptop. Bands are getting smaller as musicians use programs such as GarageBand and Ableton to fill in the gaps. Local rock band Genre took the same approach, replacing its drummer and synth player with a beat-up Macbook. "[Our sound is] more focused. The parts are in place. It's not just rocking out; now they sound more rounded out," says keyboardist/vocalist Corey Gomez on Genre's new sound.

The band regularly played shows around the Valley until taking a two-year break to focus on new songwriting approaches. Inspired by local indie popsters Bogan Via, Genre is set to play its first show since the hiatus as a duo with a laptop. "I have this fantasy in my head that when we're on stage in our personas, we're time travelers from 2013 and we've gone back to the '80s to play their music, but with the technology of now," says singer/guitarist Zac Markey on Genre's musical focus, and the band's gender-bending persona, which harkens back to the Ziggy Stardust era. -- Melissa Fossum