!!! (Chk Chk Chk) (Mezzanine, 4 August 2005)

Before embarking on their European tour, the seven-piece group !!! -- pronounced Chk Chk Chk in some circles, powpowpow in others -- decided to throw a free show in San Francisco as a warm-up. It wasn't announced by Mezzanine until today actually, when I received the e-mail. I got another e-mail a couple of days earlier informing me of it. It was free, so, what the hell? Why not go, right?

I came in at around midnight, figuring that they won't be on until then anyways. Well, they were already on but I'm sure I only missed a few songs. The show didn't end until 1:30am so I use that as my measuring stick.

!!! were absolutely crazy!!! And their sound was just spectacular. Nic Offer was sporting shorts and this weird parrot shirt as if he just stepped out of the beach in Honolulu. His signature curly top -- somewhat akin to Carrot Top or the lead singer of Hot Hot Heat -- was in full force tonight as well as his booming voice.

The crowd were mad for it too. Several times throughout their 90+ minute set, audience members freely jumped on stage to dance. At one point, this really skinny guy jumped on stage, took his shirt off to reveal his slender and pale physique, proceeded to do a dance off with Nic and then slowly pulled his pants down to moon the crowd. It was quite a spectacle! Another time, this dumb ass Asian girl, who was crunked out of her mind, started dancing on stage and fell on her ass at least 3 times. I was so embarrassed for her that I wanted to leave just avoid seeing it.

Wisely, I didn't. !!! is an eccentric band, employing every piece of musical instrument imaginable. They played a bunch of new songs, all of which sounded absolutely brilliant and dancey. It's hard to describe any of the new songs, let alone tell you the titles (since most have none), but all I can say is it follows the thread of !!!'s previous releases. It's as dancey as "Intensified" and as intense as "Me and Giuliani..."

With their new songs came the hits such as "Me and Giuliani..." which was the third to the last song played. This song drove the crowd bonkers, and it made me dance in place too. It was so full of energy and outstanding musicianship that every note and beat were in perfect synch. Nic was doing some original improv throughout the song, but it just blended so well with the sound that you hardly thought he was doing something different.

"Pardon My Freedom" was another song that drove the crowd ape shit. The front rows were dancing to their hearts' content, with some attempting to crowd surf above the others.

Overall, this is one of the best free shows I've seen in a while. A definite crowd pleaser.