Stage Dive

Talk about popular genius. Last Saturday night at the Exit/In, Popular Genius managed to fill the room almost twice in back-to-back shows. At the late show, cameras blinked throughout the room as photographers ran from side to side, competing for choice shots. Concertgoers bobbed their heads and, no joke, actually tapped their toes. The vibe was downright bubbly—a word that doesn't come up much when you're describing live music in Nashville. Even more amazing, the band managed to do it all right on time.

It was. The band made a good impression before lead singer Andrew Bissell had even sung a note. An army of Popular Genius fans filled the Exit/In for the late show, and rumor had it there was twice the crowd at the 7 p.m. all-ages show—a smart move on PG's part to please their many high-school fans.

Within minutes, it was obvious why the place was packed: the group has a sure grasp of rock 'n' roll theater. The show began when a guy smeared with white face-paint marched onstage banging a drum, shouting, "I'm a mime! No one understands me! I'm a mime!" Right on cue, the five members of PG plus assorted musicians jumped with buoyant energy into "No One Understands Me," a song whose classic teenage angst is written right into the title.

Strumming his acoustic guitar and singing with a sugary high voice, Bissell came on like a sadder Ben Folds minus the piano. However, lack of piano was hardly a problem, not with an orchestra of two guitars, a bass, drums, two flutes, two saxophones, two trumpets, a French horn, a xylophone, a cello, and a tambourine accentuating the songs. The carnival-like atmosphere allowed room for ambient harmonies, summery choruses and jazzy solos, inviting audience participation throughout.

The "folk influenced" love song "Carrie Anne" typifies PG's songs: a serenade with the guitarist and bassist humming background boy-band "aaahh's" in sync (or N Sync). "Fun is Fun," a two-minute wonder that almost beat the Ramones' clock, incorporated sulky jazz rhythms, while "Spoiler" dabbled with a beat-box feel. The abundant harmonies compelled finger-snapping—bad news for hipsters, good fun for anyone unself-conscious enough to actually enjoy music. PG managed to stay just outside the generic-pop box with lush instrumental layerings that often camouflaged the songs' dark emotional content.

At times there were 10 people on stage performing. Ten people! Yet the musicians all played with such cartoonish abandon that the revolving-door personnel came and went practically unnoticed. The band's between-song banter was just as amusing, including much goofing on their third album's mock-pretentious title, How to be Popular. They also discussed comic books and Star Trek, upping their geek cred, and they introduced a mystery bowling trophy to announce, "We won! So in your faces!" The band even dedicated "Happy Birthday" to their friend Charlie, who had finally reached "marrying age" at a ripe old 22.

The night's emotional climax was "Goodbye," performed in honor of trumpet and flute player Adam Toxler, who is leaving the band to concentrate on family and career. In a symbolic changing of the guard, Toxler passed on his flute solo to his replacement, Christi Matuszak. But the band said its goodbyes to the crowd with a raucous rendition of the Jackson Five nugget "I Want You Back," on which Bissell imitated the young Michael Jackson so well it was a little scary. Consider it a nod from one Popular Genius to another.