B-Boy Limping

Some advice:

If you know you’re going to the most surreal music show you’ve seen in a while, meaning one starring Taylor Hanson, James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), Adam Schlesinger (Ivy, Fountains of Wayne), and Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick) as the band Tinted Windows,

MAKE SURE THE BATTERIES IN YOUR CAMERA ARE CHARGED.

Because mine weren’t and I’m kicking myself. This show was all about the visuals, specifically, Taylor Hanson visuals. Let’s face it: if you squint and tilt your head, a “supergroup” of members from Fountain of Wayne, Cheap Trick and Smashing Pumpkins doesn’t seem that farfetched, but then throw in the kid that sang Mmm-Bop, and all hell breaks loose in the blogosphere. And your mind.

And last night the kid—with tambourine in hand, skinny John Waters mustache on his face, and wedding band a-blazing—knew that all eyes were on him.

But first, the backstory:

Three years ago, Schlesinger, an old friend of Hanson’s, paid a visit to the Hanson brothers’ compound in Tulsa and he and Taylor penned the song “Take Me Back.” Schlesinger knew Iha because they both ran Scratchie records together. The trio visualized who they would want to be their drummer in an ideal situation, and came up with Bun E. Carlos. So then they thought “Why not ask Bun E. Carlos?” They did, he accepted, and here we are, with the band’s self-titled debut coming out today.

Now back to the show. Hanson was front-and-center, the clear frontman wearing a black button-down (with tie), black skinny jeans and rocking teen-hearthrob hair that by the end of the night was saturated with sweat, but somehow still floppy. He was the one that was focused on as being the anomaly but in fact, he was the only one on stage that didn’t look out of place, given the group’s girl-infatuated power-pop aesthetic. He was even—and this seems blasphemous to say—sexy. Especially when he wiped the sweat off his face, and loosened his tie at the end of the show. But you can judge his appeal for yourself. They’re on Letterman tonight and Jimmy Fallon on Thursday. Before then, check out some video footage from their first show in Tulsa.

Gross but awesome quote of the night, courtesy of Taylor Hanson: “It’s raining out there but I think it’s wet in here. Sweaty, I mean.”