The word “contra” stirs up quite a bit of memory and controversy at its mere mention.

For example there was the killer 1988 Nintendo game, then of course the real-life armed warriors said to be heavily involved in widespread murder, torture and brutality with United States’ and Argentine support, led by former members of the US National Guard during the early 1980s in Nicaragua.

Literally, the word means “against” in Spanish.

The Contra you are about to read about is literally a punk rock band hailing from Bellingham. They’ll be stopping through Bremerton on the last leg of their late summer tour, getting crazy with Legends on Heroin and Vs. the World for a rare Sunday show at the all ages Artists for Freedom and Unity hall — 318 N. Callow.

It all starts at 6 p.m., Sept. 23, $5 donation.

“It’s about being poliltically/socially conscience and perhaps evoking some controversy,” said The Contra’s guitarist/vocalist Joey Dassler. “But also when we were writing music we were so sick of what was being sold as punk and still how the punk culture continues to be exploited by mainstream media … so The Contra can also refer to the prefix literally meaning “against.”

“We want to bring back the hardcore punk rock of the 80’s SoCal era,” he added.

The sound is there on their first CD “From the House of the Dying Sun,” but you won’t notice these guys by their mohawks, leather or spikes.

Audiences may not even know they were punks until they hit the stage with their trebled chaotic, abrasive, meaningful and sometimes melodious brand of music.

“We’re just some dudes that play punk rock,” Dassler said.

Think Dead Kennedys, the Decendents, early Bad Religion and a bit of Operation Ivy mixed up and reinvigorated by The Contra for a room full of all-aged energy.

“When venturing out to new territory each show is so important,” Dassler said. “You have to prove yourself to the booker/venue/promoter and the local bands.”

This is the second tour on which The Contra has embarked, the first a DIY West Coast affair which the band booked for themselves. This one caught the interest of a booker from Plus/minus Productions and took the Northwesterners’ angst to the Midwest for the first time.

And in the Midwest is where The Contra found the best show of the tour so far on a Monday night with a “goofy lineup” in Columbia, Mo.

“Shows that you expect to have a good turnout usually don’t and then the days that you don’t expect to be good are awesome; it’s a topsy-turvy world,” Dassler said.

Whether Bremerton will be topsy or turvy remains to be seen, but at very least they’ve got another somewhat goofy lineup on their side with the hilarious “gangsta-hustlin’” guitar punk of Legends and the scratchy death metal of Vs. the World.