Concert Mon Nov 19 2007

B1g t1me fun

Chicago seems to be breeding an entire sub-genre of well executed high-concept, low-brow theatrical rockers. In the past year or so, on the advice of friends, I have been introduced to the oddball exuberance of The Bitter Tears, and the peculiar camp of Let's Get Out of this Terrible Sandwich Shop. I must admit, however, that I was blindsided by the sheer weirdness of b1g t1me.

Last summer, I met some friends for drinks at Simon's in Andersonville on a Sunday. An interesting looking quartet was setting up in the corner. I asked what they did and the bartender summed it up; "They do '80's one-hit-wonder songs in the style of Tom Waits."

And that they do, more or less. What followed was two hours of pure fun, easily the most interesting accidental concert I've seen in years. The band manages an uncanny mimicry of Waits' style, wringing new meaning from songs that we've all heard a thousand times. Tom Petty's Don't Come Around Here No More takes on a decidedly threatening tone. Dio's Holy Diver is transformed from slapstick metal to a gospel-like call-and-response number. While the concept seems dubious on paper, there's definitely something else going on. By mixing a spot-on homage to Waits' innovative style with classic material that has subtly begged from day one for reinterpretation, b1g t1me manages to create something that easily stands on its own.

B1g t1me plays this Wednesday 11/21 at Quenchers Saloon, corner of Fullerton and Western.

— Dan Snedigar