Meanwhile, Dunn began to remind Goodwillie how the song went, saying “You know it!” Goodwillie started to pick out his part, and the insistent fan yelled, “See, he knows it!” Smith grumbled, “It’s kind of strange to have to teach somebody a new song onstage. “I’ll play it,” shouted someone in the crowd. When someone in the audience requested “Frustration,” Smith protested that Goodwillie didn’t know the song. Kleenex Girl Wonder were able to laugh at themselves when things weren’t working out. Goodwillie probably would’ve been fine had Smith not decided to oblige audience members who requested songs that the band obviously hadn’t taught their temporary bass player. Perhaps some of the kinks were due to Hasan’s absence. “Suit With Pads or Chaps” contrasted sharply with the other no-lyrics song Kleenex Girl Wonder had played earlier, “Heavier-Than-Air Craft,” a crazy, catchy little ditty that reminded me of the Reverend Horton Heat’s cover of the Johnny Quest theme song.īut for every well-played number there was always one or two that were all over the place. Smith had made fun of Oasis earlier when someone had jokingly requested “Champagne Supernova,” but this song reminded me of the wistful, yearning feel of the Brit pop group’s better tunes. On “Suit With Pads or Chaps” the band was in top form, playing the complex new instrumental number with a quiet beauty and dignity. At Lounge Ax a few months ago Smith hammed it up between songs, dictating instructions to his band while affecting a vaguely British accent. Past shows included a good set at the Empty Bottle on the night before New Year’s Eve 1995, though they looked like scared rabbits. Kleenex Girl Wonder are often more entertaining in concert than on their records. And we can only hope that the rest of the songs on Sexual Harassment, the band’s forthcoming CD, are half as catchy as the title track. Noteworthy tunes include the two-minute “Frustration Regarding Bedlam on the Sidewalk,” which combines catchy riffs and lyrics in rhyming couplets: “We crash landed quite an extravaganza / And we met a hero named Tony Danza.” Long Live the Pelican Express, the band’s second seven-inch, is a little more slapdash, which is not to say it doesn’t have its charms–what the songs lack in production, some, like “I’m Racing Isaiah,” make up in enjoyability. Short, well-crafted songs are the norm on the seven-inch Exotic Nitwits Keep Exotic Pets. The band’s I’m Thinking Metric, a cassette-only release, is a trip–a bizarre cross between a children’s record and an intellectual sort of lo-fi album. His replacement for this evening’s set was Christian Goodwillie. Rafeeq Hasan, the band’s usual bass player, was, according to Smith, “cavorting” with his girlfriend in London. On drums was Jeff Giba, and Andy Dunn handled another guitar. He began the set wearing an oversized sombrero that came down to his waist. Vocalist and guitarist Graham Smith, who writes a good portion of the band’s music, is kind of a nut. The Downers Grove group mixes bubblegum pop and full-power rock with intelligent and completely random lyrics–all filtered through a unique, though somewhat deranged, sensibility. Not to say that they don’t make well-crafted music. Best of Chicago 2023: Music & Nightlife.Best of Chicago 2023: Sports & Recreation.
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