Northern Faces will take the stage tonight at 8 p.m at the Maintenance Shop in the Memorial Union.

Northern Faces is an indie rock band with a post rock influence, a genre that is popular with Iowa State students, according to Jon Laczniak, co-director of the Maintenance Shop.

“It’s sort of a genre that more people can listen to. There’s more of a draw,” Laczniak said. “A lot of the shows we’ve booked [in the past] have been folk shows and we want more diversity, so that’s why we booked [Northern Faces].”

The New York native band has been touring since early 2012 with names such as The 1975, Cage the Elephant and Kongos. They just kicked off their “Back and At It” tour Aug. 15 in New Jersey and will tour across the Midwest and East Coast.

Joining Northern Faces on their tour is alternative rock band, Modern Chemistry.

Modern Chemistry hails from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Along with Northern Faces, Modern Chemistry is currently touring with Taking Back Sunday and Citizen at other locations.

Both Modern Chemistry and Northern Faces will be making their first appearances in Ames tonight at the M-shop.

“We’ve just graduated college and it’s always a fun environment,” said Joe Zorzi, singer of Modern Chemistry. “Everyone can expect a lot of noise, a lot of sweat, some bad jokes and a lot of fun.”

Though the M-shop provides entertainment for students on a constant basis, Maintenance Shop co-director, Natasha Porizkova said the M-shop struggles to fill its shows at the start of the school year.

“Sales are a little bit slower at the beginning of the semester because so many people have filtered out from the university and people who’ve filtered in don’t know yet [about the M-shop],” Porizkova said.

“It’s also a Wednesday, which Wednesday shows are always kind of a struggle because most people aren’t looking to go out and see a concert in the middle of their week.”

Although the beginning of the year causes attendance numbers to be lower, Laczniak is hopeful ticket sales will increase.

“Ticket sales have definitely been increasing this week, but we’re hoping more [people] will show up at the door,” Laczniak said.

Northern Faces and Modern Chemistry perform tonight at the M-shop at 8 p.m. Tickets are $9 with a student ID and $14 for the public and can be purchased at the M-shop or online on Midwestix. 

For more information, visit the SUB website.