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.