If you're going Uptown tonight, bring your umbrella. The forecast might not call for rain, but that has never stopped precipitation from following The Revelers. The Cleveland band has been playing for 10 years, and a peculiar curse has haunted them on every road trip they've taken.

"When we first started playing, wherever we played, it would rain or snow that day," singer/guitarist Joel Kaufman said. "Eventually we became very superstitious. If it didn't rain, we'd be worried about the show."

Calling from outside a Pittsburgh bar, Kaufman explained the band's bizarre meteorological influence as thunder rumbled all around him. Rain notwithstanding, The Revelers will hit the Union Bar and Grill at 10 p.m., bringing a night of ringing, British Invasion-style rock with them.

The Revelers began their long, precipitation-soaked journey in 1989, playing Replacements-esque garage punk, first in basements and eventually in nearly every bar in Cleveland.

Since then the band has crossed a number of stumbling blocks. They've been through three bass players, drummer Tommy Fox once was sidelined for 9 months with tendonitis, and Kaufman took a turn on the disabled list last summer with carpal tunnel syndrome.

These hardships have made the band stronger, and after a decade of assimilating a variety of influences, the current lineup of Kaufman, Fox, bassist George Frank and singer/guitarist Andrej Cuturic has settled into playing roaring, mod rock 'n' roll in the style of the very early Who or The Kinks.

"We've always been a product of our influences," Kaufman said. "More than anything else, our sound is influenced by what we're listening to at the time. We've also gotten a lot better as musicians."

The band's latest effort, Day In, Day Out, is evidence of their ever-growing skill and ever-changing tastes. While not as hard-rocking as its predecessor, Hard Times, Sunday Spirits, it still carries The Revelers' characteristic punch and flair for clever lyrics.

"It took about two weeks spread out over about six months to record it," Kaufman said. "It's the hardest record we've ever made, but I think we're all rather happy with it."

The record is also the band's second on the New York City-based spinART record label. SpinART picked the band up as a result of their temporary move to New York in 1997.

"We stayed about three months -until our money ran out," Kaufman said. "The plus side was being signed by spinART. We all feel we're better off there than elsewhere. It's much better to be a big priority on a small label than being a small priority on a big label."

Ten years of mixed fate, copious rain, bouts with tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome -none of this has stopped The Revelers.

"It's been a real star-crossed 10 years," Kaufman said. "But we've found that the good and the bad have come in equal portions. We're hoping to maybe break that cycle - a couple years of just good would be nice, and things are looking up these days."

Let's hope it doesn't rain too hard.

The Revelers will shake some action at the Union at 10 p.m. Also on the bill are The Tax (featuring ex-members of the InSect) and members of Pittsburgh's Mount McKinleys. Cover is $3.