Because one of the Ironclads’ frontmen, Jamie Cotton, is currently living in a different state, Ironclads shows are a somewhat rare occurrence these days. At least the band didn’t break up entirely, which is how it looked when the Ironclads played their “final show” once Cotton left for graduate school in Colorado. Obviously, the melodious post-punk magic that happens when the Ironclads get together is powerful enough to transcend distance and a time zone or two. The band traffics in emotive rock with hard, discordant edges similar to so many of Saddle Creek’s turn-of-the-century offerings: if you’re new to the band, this can be heard most clearly in one of the band’s standbys, “Cape Canaveral,” which is available as a stream on the band’s MySpace page. With M. Bison, Joseph Giant. SARA BRICKNER

Fri., Dec. 3, 9 p.m., 2010