The Connells open for Blue Dogs tonight (12/28/11)

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Once a staple of the Carolinas’ ’80s college rock scene, the Triangle band specialized in wistful, R.E.M./Feelies-influenced jangle pop, and worked often with power pop vets Don Dixon and Mitch Easter to achieve it. They were on Elvis Costello’s Demon label in Britain, where they were significantly more popular initially, but I always wished they had a little more grit on ’em. Still, their high point, 1987’s Boylan Heights, has aged pretty well, and that serves a largely dormant (by choice) nostalgia act just fine. Opening for the Blue Dogs. $18-$20. Neighborhood Theatre. www.neighborhoodtheatre.com.