Imperial Teen guitarist Roddy Bottum behaved like a clown at his group’s gig at the Black Cat Thursday night, while his bandmate Will Schwartz played his guitar like an accident victim and bassist Jone Stebbins was as nasty as a witch. It was just Halloween, though, and the San Francisco quartet were decked out in costume to add a little spice to their show. It hardly needed it, because their swerving fuzz-pop anthems tumbled forth beautifully throughout a stellar hour-long set.
Currently touring behind their luminous third album, “On”, Imperial Teen has been whipping up compelling pop gems since the group came together around former Faith No More keyboardist Bottum in 1995. With Patty Schemel (ex-Hole) capably taking over the kit on this tour for the Teen’s regular drummer Lynn Perko, the quartet essayed 15 songs with remarkable drive, balancing elements of Sixties garage rock, chirping male/female pop harmonies and a splash of jerky new wave. Starting with “The Beginning” and moving through songs like “Ivanka” and their most well-known tune “Yoo Hoo”, Imperial Teen displayed knowledge of brevity and tightly wound tempos that put most guitar pop outfits to shame. Add to that “Baby” and “Water Boy”, which bubbled with an undercurrent of dry, dark humor and Imperial Teen’s Halloween gig stands as one of the year’s most enjoyable pop concerts.
Washington Post, 2002
