Wheatus

Everywhere I Go The Kids Want To Rock. Trouble is, they’re turning in droves to punk-pop-by-numbers bands like Blink 182, Limp Bizkit, Ween, and now Wheatus, for teenage kicks.

The biggest surprise of the night is the long queue at the bar. Given the heavy rotation of “that” song, not only on MTV but on the kiddie channel Nickelodeon, you expect to see a largely sub-teen audience, not the predominantly 16 to 21-year-olds who make up the bulk of tonight’s crowd.

After an incendiary (and very loud) set from London noiseniks Dirty Harry, Wheatus, plus female backing singer amble out onstage and launch into, ‘Here We Go Again’ to an ecstatic reception. Frontman, Brendan B. Brown’s nerdy whine is instantly familiar, even when he speaks to the crowd: “I hope you guys have your tape recorders rolling ‘cause we don’t give a shit about bootlegging or tape trading.” (So now you know what passes for teenage rebellion in 2001 – tape trading!)

You get the impression they’d like to be taken more seriously and, in their less frenetic moments they sound almost like an unsophisticated Eels. But the incessant larking about, throwing paper planes, slagging off Britney etc., gives the game away. (The breakdown of the stage lighting didn’t help matters either)

The current single, a smart cover of Erasure’s, ‘A Little Respect’ could be the perfect vehicle for Wheatus’ loftier ambitions, while a new song, ‘Pretty Girl’ also marks a step forward in the songwriting department. But it’s the thrashy album favourites like ‘Wannabe Gangster’ , ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Truffles’ that has them pogo-ing out front, It’s all over in a flash and inevitably ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, a song as irritating as it is irresistible, is given an extended airing complete with a carefully orchestrated mini-invasion of the stage.

The jury might be out on Wheatus but The Kids Are Alright.