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09/12/08 Andyman’s Treehouse Columbus, OH
10/11/08 Galapagos NY |
The fellas (and ladies. Sorry ladies) in Team Genius sound like giant dorks. Their loose-cannon yowls are less punk than glee club mayhem and I’m 99% sure that at least one band member sports a questionable/lame hairstyle (Myspace confirms this). Despite the dorkiness (or perhaps because of it), the songs are curiously infectious—short anthems that are neither sweet nor sour. Singer Drew Hermiller’s brand of unintelligible wit is obnoxiously charming, like a cruder more pubescent Weezer (without the endless self-doubt). It’s music that refuses to take itself seriously, sometimes with consequences (“Must” sounds like a mixtape reject) and other times with near-perfect clarity (“Sing Song”).
Team Genius hails from the indie rock holy land—Brooklyn, NY, which is both unsurprising and mildly disappointing (I really wish they came from somewhere funnier, like a fennel farm or a mother’s basement*). The band consists of mostly boys and two girls. Someone plays the trumpet. Someone is named Chad. Unrelated: is ‘Chad’ not the douchiest name ever? I’m reminded, unfortunately, of a piece of shit “Road Rules” road ruler named Chad (Chadwick, actually—he chose not to abbreviate); because of this, whenever I meet a Chad I have a reckless, Pavlovian urge to punch him in the face. Related: I have no desire to punch Team Genius Chad in the face.
All that being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if at least one band member has been, at the very least, elbowed hard by flailing arms during a crazy, dancetastic show. Having never been to a Team Genius concert, I can only imagine: lots of fake nerds, a few hot fake nerd girls, one or two real nerds that accidentally showed up (possibly confused by the combination of ‘Team’ and ‘Genius’), and some Asians. Dancing occurs. A misguided youth attempts to start a pogo circle; everyone ignores him. I’m not a betting woman, but I bet when the band plays “Hand Claps in E Major” there is hand clapping.
I digressed too much. What I’m trying to say is this: Team Genius is FUN. Maybe some day they’ll be serious, but for now, fun is enough (and really, how can you hate on a band that titles one of its songs “I’m Just an Idiot,” promotes counting, and is mostly unintelligible, save for a few choice lines like “Once I had a chat with God / but it was not really all that odd / I said hey he said good day / in a classic way”).
Team Genius is on Myspace! Stalk them elsewhere at www.teamgeniusmusic.com or send love e-letters directly to info[a]TeamGeniusMusic.com. Hooray was self-released and can be purchased at cdbaby.com. It doesn’t look like the band is touring much outside of New York and Ohio, but check their websites for the deets.
*EDIT: They’re from Ohio. Yay!
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