If there were to be a “state of rock and roll” address given by the president of some representative organization, that person would be remiss in his or her duties without mentioning the widespread use of “the” and a multiple noun in naming rock outfits. The Strokes, The Hives, The What-the-hell-evers.

Although this methodology has become semi-clich‚, its roots are grounded in an important past (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones), and any modern band that understands that can’t be dismissed for this sole reason.

Fortunately for pessimistic rock critics, The Donnas, who played at the Memorial Union Ballroom in Iowa City Monday night, gave enough fodder for vitriolic review.

The Donnas promptly took the stage to a seemingly intrigued crowd of about 400. Although these numbers only filled about half the venue, it’s definitely a more respectable attendance than even a sold-out show at Iowa City venue Gabe’s Oasis.

The Donnas played at the infamous hole-in-the-wall rock club on their last jaunt through Iowa, a fact lead singer Donna A (real name Brett Anderson) did not neglect to mention.

“It’s pretty hot in here tonight. Do you think it’ll get that hot in here?” she asked, referring to temperatures any small rock club is capable of mustering under the stress of a full house.

This time around, promoting their new album on mega-label Atlantic, “Spend The Night,” The Donnas definitely did not haul their own equipment, risking life and limb on slippery stairs. This is a big(ger)-time rock band now, complete with guitar techs and TRL-hit videos.

The Donnas played a relatively short set for a headlining act. But those 45 minutes were jam-packed with short raucous songs about cars, sex and rock ‘n’ roll. Their subject matter doesn’t deal with the kind of sexual innuendo we expect from today’s pop starlet divas. The Donnas got right to the heart of the matter with songs like “Take Me to the Backseat.”

“Too Bad About Your Girl” hints about what having a Donna in your life could be like. Donna A sings, “It’s too bad about your girl/ doesn’t look like she’s too much fun.”

But honestly, The Donnas didn’t seem to be all that entertaining on this night. Half of The Donnas did their part to contribute. Guitarist Donna R (Allison Robertson) displayed rock chops and attitude men twice her size would be fortunate to have, while drummer Donna C (Torry Castellano) kept the beat with all the ferocity and flash that has been remiss from rock for some time. These two girls kicked serious ass, regardless of their chromosomal structure.

The other half of the group didn’t quite keep up with their cohorts. Singer Donna A has a somewhat limited vocal range. While this is acceptable for girls not singing “My Heart Will Go On,” it does tend to make the separate songs bleed into one indistinguishable blob.

Bassist Donna F (Maya Ford) needs to have her microphone privileges revoked. She stepped up to the mic to either tell ridiculous jokes involving Michael Jackson or just to blabber unintelligibly. “Yeah, whoo, all right, blah, blah, blah” often echoed throughout the concert hall in a pseudo-banshee wail.

Nonetheless, there were definitely enthusiastic fans in the audience. Donna A noted the fact when she said, “I see we have some excited guys in the audience. This is for you. It’s called ‘You Got a Crush on Me.'”

Julianne Offman of Iowa City said she definitely enjoyed the experience.

“I can’t describe it without cursing,” she said.

“Except for the drunk guys crushing me from behind, it was the best show I’ve ever seen. I’d marry The Donnas if I were a lesbian.”