Gidgets Ga Ga: The Big Bong Fiasco... I had to see it to believe it!

Good Enough mp3 Gidgets Ga Ga The Big Bong Fiasco …. buy it!

I’ve been hearing about this band for months now, emails and facebook chats and a CD in the mail and yeah, the album was good. But I wanted to wait and see for myself how it all held up to a live gig. Sometimes that really helps me get a review to gel and puts my head in the right place about how to tell you what a band is. And Gidgets Ga Ga is so not what I thought they were! Darlings, I’m glad I waited.

At first glance, the name alone led me to think this was a girl group. So I had to listen to the whole album (all 18 tracks!) to figure out there’s not a girl on it, not one. Yeah. It takes me a while sometimes to get over my first thought. I wasn’t disappointed, however, in what I did hear. This is straight up, pure, unadulterated alt-rock/garage band music with really, really good hooks and wonderful vocals. On more than a few tracks I had to go and look at the album liner notes to prove to myself that these weren’t covers. That’s how familiar they became to me at first listen. These songs just sank into my brain and made themselves at home there.

I finally caught the band live Thursday night. And yeah, the vocals are awesome. Mick’s delivery is understated, just the right amount of attitude shot into the mic but without too much rockstar posing. There’s fine guitar playing, some well-placed solos,  and Zac on bass… well, let me say, he wears it well. Listen to any  Gidgets Ga Ga song and you’ll notice the tight bass line, the hook isn’t created just in the lyrics and lead guitar licks. Zac plays to the point. It’s not funky. It’s not all over the place. Zac melds perfectly with Mick’s sound, much like their personalities have melded over the years as friends. Leslie, on drums (filling in for their regular drummer, Larry) did a good job of countering the energy thrown off by those two. He was both accomplished and not afraid to show off a bit either. It was a great show, made even better by the introduction of a brand new song that I cannot wait to let you in on. Soon, my dears, soon!!

Go check out their album, it’s full up of power pop goodies. It’s thoroughly American, consistently Chicagoan, reminicent of the Replacements, the Bodeans, Oasis (maybe?) and yet also completely new. You can stream it here, go ahead… you know you want to, xoxo