They've been receiving a lot of local media attention lately, from blog buzz to a Q101 interview to a positive write-up by notoriously-hard-please Jim DeRogatis before he departed the Sun-Times. Just earlier this week, they learned they'll be playing at Milwaukee's Summerfest.
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On Thursday night, The Maybenauts showed what the fuss is all about with an in-store performance at Laurie's Planet of Sound, a cool record store on Lincoln Avenue located just a couple blocks north of the Old Town School of Folk Music. The Maybenauts proved to be pretty cool themselves as they celebrated the release of their five song-CD, Big Bang.
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The Maybenauts say they play glam-pop with three-part harmonies, danceable grooves and rock guitar riffs. That's all true and they're good at all that, but most of all they're fun! It's an ingredient missing in too many bands, but The Maybenauts have plenty of it. Singer Leilani Frey is a natural frontwoman with no pretension. Watching her perform is like seeing someone singing into her hairbrush in front of a mirror at home when no one is watching. She performs without inhibition, even in a well-lighted store with the audience standing eye-to-eye with her.
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Now it's time for a confession. When I first saw The Maybenauts in January at Lincoln Hall, I came away impressed with the band, but thought their Space Panda schtick was unnecessary. Guitarist Vee Sonnets played the first part of the set wearing a panda mask. I thought it was an unneeded gimmick, but now I get it. It's just part of the band's fun, which includes a glam-space theme. Sonnets went beyond the call of duty on Thursday, keeping his mask on for the entire set while putting some teeth into the music with his rock riffs.
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Bassist Ellie Maybe and drummer Emily Agustin played in tight quarters at the back of the store, but still managed to power the band with big grooves. At one point Agustin asked if anyone had a cinder block to keep her drums from sliding. To their credit, The Maybenauts rocked the store. Frey took advantage of the slim aisle in front of her to kick and dance and flip through a rack of CDs while she sang.
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Now one of the CDs in the store is Big Bang. The band played its five songs in order. Each is fully realized led by the opening one-two pop punch of "Girlfight" and "My Head is a Bomb," the latter which was co-produced by Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Gos. The songs are pop bliss. The Maybenauts can slow things down as well as evidenced by "Not Aware." Frey and Maybe harmonized beautifully at the end of the song. Space Panda harmonized, too.
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After playing Big Bang in sequence, The Maybenauts played a new song, "2012," which features a string of political references, and a pair of older songs, "Smooth Operator" and "No Eggs." The band appeared done, but its gathered fans demanded one more. "Carninogens" capped a performance that just might have those who saw it say someday, "Remember when..."
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The setlist:
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Girlfight My Head is a Bomb You Are Here Not Aware Blue Line 2012 Smooth Operator No Eggs -------------- Carcinogens
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Start: 7:20 p.m./Finish: 7:52 p.m. Totals: Nine songs, 32 minutes
