Prior to seeing Totally Michael in concert I only had an EP I have titled as “For You.” I have no idea if there’s a real EP named that. I haven’t been able to find it anywhere else. I don’t even know where it came from, but I love it.

At the concert I was pleased to see that he had a full length album out. I quickly bought it.

A few songs on my strangely acquired “For You.” are on it. Three to be exact: “Death Hill (Over and Over)“, “Cheerleaders vs. Drillteam“, and “Don’t Stop“. The rest were delightfully new to me.

Totally Michael’s style is that of upbeat catchy pop songs with verses that seem particularly awesome and pronounced. This album was no exception. While I was tickled pink by songs like “Shake Your Booty or Die”, the full length seems to get even goofier. I love it.

“I’m not a high-class retail outlet, but I’d love for you to steal my heart!” kicks off the chorus of the second song on the album. The name of the song from which that line is taken is “Winona“. When I put two and two together I giggled.

This isn’t an old album, either. It was just released in 2009. So Michael’s interest in Winona apparently hasn’t waned much since his younger days.

His other songs cover similarly erratic topics. Of note are “In Her Diary” and “Casual Satisfaction“.

“In Her Diary” covers the tale of Michael trying to reclaim an ex-girlfriend stolen by another man. It’s incredibly jumpable – in concert the crowd absolutely freaked when he broke this out. It really has high energy, and a lot of great lines. If he had a single, it would be this song.

“Casual Satisfaction” has perhaps the most explicit lyrics I’ve come across in my musical ramblings. I know there are plenty out there that trump this little number, but they aren’t the type to make it into my library.

The chorus: “Oh girl, you make my dick erect. Mmm boy, you make my pussy wet.” Multiply by about six.

As such, this song leaves me with a little inner discord. On some level, the lyrics are too much for me. On the other hand, it’s kind of funny in it’s over-the-topness. It keeps bouncing between a 3.5 star and a 4 star in my library. Not a top attraction for me, but unique enough that it deserves a look.

Outside of songs about sex, exes, and Winona Ryder, Totally Michael covers summer anthems, prom night, a slow jam about being single, and a litany of other things with his electronic pop style.

I have heard rumble among some that the whole album is perhaps only appropriate for those in high school. I heartily disagree. While high-school happenings do make a frequent appearance, I don’t feel any distance from the subject matter, despite my 5 years of distance from high-school. If anything the album pulls you in for a minute and makes you feel like a high-schooler with the insane amount of exuberance and happiness that Totally Michael apparently feels on a daily basis.

What to take away…

Totally Michael is unique and awesome in his lyrics and music. And awesome.

What should you expect?

Poppy and electronic tracks about unique topics. The sudden urge to jump.

What drink to pair with it?

A new discovery of mine. The Electric Leninade: 1.5 ounces Vodka, .5 ounce Blue Curaçao, 2 ounces Sours mix, and 4 ounces 7-UP. Stir, pour over ice.

Sweet, tart, bubbly, bright…teal, and delicious. Just like Totally Michael?

Favorite Song?

“In Her Diary”. Hands down.

I’ve never before been bludgeoned with palpable happiness. There is funny, there is moving, there is hilarious, but I’ve never really encountered “happy” – that state of overwhelming contendedness. The Danes supposedly have it in quantities much larger than the bulk of Americans, but it is my firm belief that Matt & Kim are trying desperately to toppled that monopoly. And from what I can tell it seems to be working.

My first Matt & Kim experience was with their “Daylight” music video, and I immediately found a smile stuck on my face. Seriously, their never-ending grins, pointlessly nonsensical lyrics and fun-loving style just manage to wash away even the most dour façade in a moment. Their most recent album – fittingly named “Grand” – is nothing but good-feeling nonsense conveyed on punk-inspired beats. Most of the songs are short – the longest only being three and a half minutes – giving an overall playtime of under a half hour for the 11 tracks present. Short, yes, but what a half hour!

It’s kind of hard to summarize Matt & Kim’s presentation using words because – as with most artists – it’s their style which sets them apart and makes them emotionally appealing. They both maintain a perpetual insider shit-eating grin in everything I’ve ever seen them photographed, and once you’ve witnessed them physically it becomes impossible to separate their persona from their music.

The closest I’ve come to verbalizing their essence is when I started referring to the playback of their album as “taking a happiness hit.” For myself and those I’ve spread the music to, the song represents a literal energy rush and soul cleansing two minutes and fifty one seconds. It’s like walking in to a Discovery Store – there’s so much off-the-wall entertainment at hand that you just kind of intrinsically relax and start thinking like a kid again. A third of the songs just immediately make you break a move, and the others evoke a head tick and an occasional mumbled lyric accompanied by a stupid, heart-warming smile.

For extra strength action I highly recommend the “Daylight” music video (once again embedding is disabled). It’s kind of a double-potency espresso-shot for the mind.

What to expect…

A soul boosting feeling of contendedness wrapped up in utter nonsense.

What should you take away?

Be happy, damn it!

What would I pair them with?

I don’t think alcohol flies with this band – as a depressant it seems to be completely out of place. I’m going to go with Naked Juice – pick your flavor.

Favorite song?

Daylight – no ifs, ands, or buts.

Totally Michael is one of those bands I don’t even remember discovering, even though I’ve only known his music for about a year now. I don’t remember that awkward first listen where I’m uncertain as to my thoughts. It was like Kool-aide. Bright and happy and thirst quenching. Poppy electronic, done DIY style (it’s DIY season, didn’t you know?), Totally Michael’s music makes me feel like a really really happy 17 year old.

I have no idea what it makes teenagers feel like.

When I heard he was coming to Cleveland I believe my exact words were “Totally Michael is coming to Cleveland?! Fuck Yeah!” Sometimes I don’t mince my words. Just sometimes.

To the Grog Shop I headed for the second time this week. The website said 8:00, and Shu and I rolled in around 8:15. We waited. And we waited. No one was there. I was bored. I wanted to attempt to save some money by not drinking, and it wasn’t working for me. With 20 minutes to 9, I caved and got a tallboy. There were big banners hanging behind the stage announcing The Sleeps, so I was surprised when the first band took the stage and announced themselves as Phantogram.

Phantogram was like opium. I was initially a tidge grumpy from all the waiting around, but their beats lulled me right in. Soon I was bobbing and absorbing all their music. I was really getting into it when they announced they were going to cut their set short due to things sounding ’strange’. Their style of music was hip-hop infused electronica with haunting vocals. I thought strange was the point. Engagingly strange. Apparently I was wrong.

Shu bought their album, though. More to come later.

With the stage now empty, three guys took the stage. These were the aforementioned Sleeps. I’m not gonna lie, these guys kinda bothered me a little bit. They wielded their instruments well. Their singing was good. Their general sense of fashion is what bothered me the most, though. I don’t mind a complete lack of fashion. Jeans and a T-shirt. Fine. But these guys tried hard, and I felt it just didn’t quite work. Like they tried to take a page out of the book of the Pink Spiders and kind of failed. That and the drummer had both a mohawk and a hair swoop at the same time.

Despite that completely unmusically related dig, they did play a good set, though I found them a little less than engaging. They were giving out free CDs, though. I’ll give them another listen, this time not biased by having to watch the drummer keep playing with his hair swoop.

Next Prizzy Prizzy Please was up. With the name, I expected some goofy happy upbeat electronic music like Totally Michael. I was oh-so wrong. They very successfully psyched me out with their saxophone and keyboard, though. But then. There was all this yelling. And loud, loud music. So loud, I couldn’t hear what they were saying at all, except one song where they were singing from the point of view of a volcano. I didn’t get it. I didn’t like it. At all.

The Sleeps just kind of bored me, though i could see their music catching my attention with some more distinction of their musical style (their personal style was more than distinct). Prizzy Prizzy Please though…didn’t work for me. I was really happy when they left the stage, even though everyone else loved them. Shu didn’t care for them either. It made me feel less crazy.

So Totally Michael took the stage. By ‘took the stage’ I mean he moved the mic stand to the floor, and set up there. The drummer from Prizzy Prizzy Please accompanied him, as did Michael’s laptop. Since it was just Michael with a guitar and a drummer, the more electronic-y parts of his music were delivered from his computer. To make things flow more smoothly, he had bumper music between his songs. He played a wonderful set, with really awesome bumper music. Spice Girls. Andrew W.K. The Buggles.

First he played an instrumental, then a Totally Michael break down version of “YMCA”, which was really just bumper music taken too seriously. In the most awesome way possible. The feel good anthem “Death Hill (Over and Over)” came next. One of my favorites. The crowd, if moderately sized, freaked. I’ve never seen such a large percentage of the crowd dancing and having a great time. Perhaps this is the benefit of lesser known bands: only people who really like them know they’re coming and show up.

Regardless, the show went on smoothly, and Michael seemed really pleased that the crowd was surging around him and screaming his lyrics. For his second to last song he broke out the crowd favorite “Cheerleaders Vs. Drillteam“. He told us to split up, cheerleaders on the left, drillteam on the right. In the middle of the song there’s a little breakdown where both sides are jeering each other. Well, during shows, the crowd fills in for those jeers. I picked the Drillteam and had great fun yelling at the other side and flicking them off. When the song rushed back into the chorus, we all came back together and danced our asses off. As Michael said, “hating is for suckas.”

Totally Michael delivered a wonderful concert that was exactly what i hoped it would be. catchy beats, enthusiasm, happiness. Not an apathite in sight.

What to take away…

a lighthearted and playful mood.

What should you expect?

Early twenty-somethings ready to break out some moves.

What drink to pair with?

Kool-aid with a line of coke.