Philly band The Donuts will pay tribute to Rockpile at Kung Fu Necktie

When we last saw Jon Houlon, the Philadelphia songwriter was up on his high horse with John Train, the country-leaning band with whom he recorded the horse opera, Cowboy Dreams, the 10-song LP that was released in January.

Now, with John Train’s three-month-run at Fergie’s Pub over — and Brian Seymour currently occupying the Friday night slot at the Center City watering hole — Houlon and crew have another project in the works. On Saturday, The Donuts, the garage band which includes members of John Train playing under aliases — Houlon calls himself J. Bearclaw in this guise — will return to action with another high concept show.

» READ MORE: Do ‘Cowboy Dreams’ come true? Country band John Train’s new horse opera is inspired by Philly riding culture

The band has previously expressed its admiration for British pub-rock band Rockpile’s 1980 masterpiece Seconds of Pleasure by covering that album in its entirety. Now, they’ve upped the ante by writing a series of response songs to the album’s original tunes. For instance, Rockpile’s “If Sugar Was As Sweet As You” is now paired with “If You Were As Sweet As Sugar” and “Teacher, Teacher” has an answer song called “Substitute Teacher.” Is that nerdy enough for you?

Also on the bill: a rare appearance by KeN, the long time Philly rock band named after Barbie’s boyfriend. The group that features Kristin Thomson, Marina De’Angelo, Jennifer Snyder, and Matthew Weatherbee, issues an invitation in its artist bio: “Sinners: come worship at the altar of KeN. The gods of rock are female!” $15, 7:45 p.m., April 22, Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N. Front St., kungfunecktie.com