oh my god preview

oh my god
Schubas, Chicago
Thursday, June 28th & Friday, June 29th, 2007

Chicago band oh my god, long revered for their wacky drums/bass/organ lineup, finally take the leap and add geetar to the mix. Does this mean conformity for these proud weirdoes? Hardly.

If it’s the group’s – bassist frontman Billy O’Neill, drummer Bish, and organist Ig – eclectic nature that first attracted you, rest assured Fools Want Noise (Split Red), oh my god’s fifth full-length since 2001, is still all over the place. From power pop bliss (“Two-Hand Touch”) to punk aggression (title track) and bombastic hard rock (“Facewash”) to psychedelic flirting (“Ancient Sanskrit Proverb (The Splendor Of Beauty)”), omg never stick around long enough to set stakes in any one style. As for that six-string instrument employed by the group for the first time on this album (Darediablo’s Jake Garcia played on Fools, but Matt Lenny will handle live ax duties), it’s a nice, and sometimes needed, touch but hardly distracting. Organist Ig (short for Iguana, who has played/toured with Junior Wells and Buddy Guy among others) and his fuzzy, pounding playing have served as the group’s de facto guitar all these years anyway; the addition of real-life guitar only beefs up Ig’s already beefy sound.

Though precise and incredibly hooky, omg’s sometimes noisy, often experimental style often earns them the “art rock” tag. Truth is, though, the band are far less indulgent, and much more fun, than most the sonic buzzkill that comes from that genre.

– Trevor Fisher

Click here to download oh my god’s “That’s Just Me.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly