While the BBCF butchered the Violent Femmes and White Stripes, and ended their set with an almost unrecognizable version of American Girl by Tom Petty, the discriminating bar-hopper would at least notice their taseful cover song selection. And in the audience were the parents and children of (one would assume) not only the BBCF, but also of The Curve and Billy Morris' project Headbanger's Ball, scheduled for later that evening. More reminiscent of a British pub in its community feel, the Hi-Fi Club continues to tweak and experiment with their formats, and this night, they drew a good, friendly crowd.
Artists and glitterati were in effect at the Peppermen show back at the Symposium, set up when Marilyn Manson cancelled his entire tour (Mc Mahon? was scheduled to open the Cleveland stop on that tour). Some folks had driven up to 3 hours from as far away as Detroit, and the talk before the gig was about how much some of the early Lucky Pierre singles were selling for on eBay. The built-up demand was certainly evident, and the crowd was simply mesmerized from the opening chords of new song, Johnny Goes to Paris, through stand-out Hire A Lover, and right up to the end of the (too short) 14-song set. Highlights included a smoking guitar lead by Rick Christyson on the classic Lucky Pierre song Fans and Cameras, and the intense She Wasn't Good (She Was Great), with drummer Dave Zima's great-sounding bass drum.
There was an era of New Wave when all the worthwhile aspects of rock music congealed: rockabilly, hard rock, punk rock, surf music, Beatlesque harmonies and Phil Spectorish production formed one searing mass of forward-looking and hopeful attitude that truly attempted to consolidate the past and move into a new future for rock and roll. Mc Mahon?'s music has always taken its cue from this philosophy. His lyrics are so well-crafted (they actually rhyme!), that they're almost cute, but they're too grounded. In local circles, (and not surprisingly, nationally), Mc Mahon? is regarded as one of the Beatles (probably George), with his attitude of cool backed up with the almost effortless talent of a child prodigiy.
During Shitty Attitude towards the end of the set, two girls (under 40) finally broke down and did what the babysitter crowd wanted to do all night: dance their asses off. When the set peaked with Automatic and Boys, the crowd was ready for anything. But having had only three rehearsals, and working from set lists that included chord changes and lyric cheat sheets, the band was out of ammo.
One could guess that the encore would be thrown-together versions of The Who's The Kids Are Alright and The Kinks' You Really Got Me, but for those who were there, watching Mc Mahon? lean into the mic and dream the dreams that boys dream, almost anything is better than more silence from this Cleveland original.
Review & photos by Cool Cleveland creator Thomas Mulready
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