Anyone craving a live rock show doesn't have to go hungry just because The Chameleon Club is undergoing renovations this month.

In fact, you can get your music fix tonight at Señorita Burrita, 227 N. Prince St., where the excellent local band Movies With Heroes will appear.

The fact that there will be tasty Mexican food on site is, of course, a definite plus.

According to Movies With Heroes' Jeff Royer, the gig was arranged by the Chameleon's very own talent scout, Gregg Royer.

"He's been arranging shows at Burrita since the Chameleon closed for renovations," the bassist and singer said. "And we go way back with Burrita's owner, Jenny Foster. We even played a special Christmas show at the Burrita once. And since we appear at the Chameleon all the time, (tonight's) show is just a nice collaboration between friends."

For the uninitiated, Movies With Heroes didn't get their name by donning capes and tights on stage.

"When we were putting this band together, we had a batch of songs ready to go and one of them was titled 'Movies With Heroes,'" said Keith Wilson, the band's singer and guitarist. "The song's about a break-up. I wrote the song like a screenplay — with the regular guy being cast as the hero."

Their music is aggressive and smart alternative rock with a soaring quality that transforms many of the songs from the CD "Nothing Here Is Perfect" into slamming anthems.

Wilson's voice carries the right amount of pain but still manages a certain level of beauty — comparable to Brandon Boyd (remember Incubus?), Jim Adkins from Jimmie Eat World and Better Than Ezra's Kevin Griffin.

And the boys, who collaborate on each song, say they like their music to have some depth, which explains tracks like "Wake Up."

"It's has a message, but not exactly a particular political bent," Wilson said. "Younger kids from the suburbs go to our shows a lot, and I'm not sure if they're aware of issues outside of Lancaster or how the political atmosphere affects them.

"So it's kind of like I'm saying, wake up. No more apathy, please," he said. "We follow the 2008 election race now, and just geek out over all the coverage. We like Obama."

Royer said the fun chorus in "The Wave" was created by getting a bunch of "friends/wives/musicians" into the studio and recording for free — earning them an A for ingenuity.

Currently, they're on the CI label here in the United States, but it turns out that the guys have a healthy following in Europe, where Rude Records takes care of them.

Wilson said being a part of the music scene in places like Italy and Germany has its perks.

"There's tons of bands there, like there are here," he said. "But in America the market is flooded with a lot of half-decent bands. In Europe, there's less flooding of that kind."

And the food's not bad either, said Royer.

"Well, each performance there is very deliberate," he said. "As opposed to opening up some beer and setting up in a corner in some American venues.

"In Europe, there's a lot of catering, like the catered meals after a show or snacks before," he said. "Then later, you go back to a hotel room that's been paid for. It's nice.

"And over there, there's still a fascination for an American rock band," he said. "Which keeps some people's interests."

The guys met while attending high school — Wilson went to Lancaster Mennonite and Royer went to Manheim Township High School. They got along and realized they could write a song together by passing it back and forth.

"Jeff's more cerebral than me and is good at the technical aspects of putting the music together," Wilson said. "I do a lot of lyrics and melody. So, a lot of the time we pass the music back and forth and then put the finishing touches on it."

They admire bands like U2, R.E.M., Coldplay and The Killers — and pretty much everything in between.

And neither musician is preoccupied with trends when they're writing music.

"I don't even have MTV because I only get, like, two and a half channels," Royer said. "Actually, I think it's better that way."

Movies With Heroes, today, 8 p.m., Señorita Burrita, 227 N. Prince St., $8.

E-mail: cdifonzo@lnpnews.com