Although Bryan Scary wasn’t headlining, it was pretty clear that was whom most of the crowd filling the Rock and Roll Hotel on Saturday night was there to see. Looking a bit like Alice Cooper (the eyeliner helped), Scary put on a theatric stageshow, backed up by his stellar touring band, the jumpsuit-bedecked Shreading Tears. Maybe it was just the small space echoing the yells of die-hards; nevertheless, it’s pretty rare to hear a crowd respond to an opener with calls for an encore.

With props to accompany nearly every song in his epic saga of “aeronautics” from the forthcoming Flight of the Knife album (see the Voice’s review), Scary’s high energy performance more than justified his reputation for superb live shows. The tale is patently ridiculous, involving mad scientists, aliens/astronauts (maybe?), a woman named Suzy and a young boy who dreams of an air flying machine—and immensely entertaining in its absurdity. It’s hard to tell if the story is truly tongue-in-cheek because Scary performs as each character with such sincerity that you want to believe him.

Although prog-rock is nothing new (see: the 1970s), Scary’s take on the rock opera blends musicianship with melodic songwriting—and benefits from intense, high volume performance. The squeaky clean mix on the record allows his brilliant songwriting to shine through, but at the cost of sounding a bit more rock musical than raucous, glam-inspired rock and roll.

Live, the band’s talent is beyond reproach as they navigate rapid fire key changes in typical prog-rock style, and thankfully avoid typical prog excesses by steering clear of too long songs with extended solos. Instead each number is packed with so many ideas that the “look-what-I-can-do” factor is minimized in favor of telling the story.

Oh, and did I mention the wicked guitarist of the Shreading Tears (Graham Norwood) is legally blind?

Murder Mystery opened for Bryan Scary and the Shreading Tears, playing a fairly mundane version of indie pop. Lead singer Jeremy Coleman sings a bit too much like Lou Reed, but can’t really pull it off—maybe Coleman should try singing off key a bit, and investing some energy into the performance. The band’s songs are jaunty and pleasant, heavily invested in the pop tradition and ultimately not that interesting. Mediocrity comes easy, and the band’s lack of energy was especially prominent in apposition with Bryan Scary.

Photos by Jeff Reger, Leisure Editor