What comes to your mind when you hear the word “zombies”? Flesh-eating monsters? Cheesy movies? Norah Jones fans? If enigmatic, 1960s pop songcraft doesn’t come to mind, stop by the Town Ballroom this Saturday for an awakening. The Zombies were the Van Gogh of the British Invasion—a band that was criminally underrated while it was together and critically lauded after its demise in 1967, after only five years together. Hence, the duo of Zombies keyboardist/songwriter Rod Argent and lead singer Colin Blunstone may be the ideal headliner of “Little Steven’s Underground Garage Rolling Rock & Roll Show.” (Product placement is sooo underground.) Even the band’s most popular singles were outside the box, from the percussive sexuality of “Time of the Season” to the dark, bluesy organ riffs of “She’s Not There,” a track that pre-dated the supposedly unique, organ-driven sound of the Doors by a good three years. The show, organized by Springsteen guitarist/Sopranos star/head-scarf preservationist Steven Van Zandt, also includes New York City garage rockers the Mooney Suzuki, the Woggles of Athens, Georgia, who give garage rock a Southern twist, and Detroit’s the Gore Gore Girls, who are, not surprisingly, a garage rock band.

saturday, september 16 at 9pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main Street (852-3900). $20 (box office, Home of the Hits,

New World Record, Tickets.com).