Saturday 05/06/04 Bobby Conn & The Glass Gypsies @ The Empty Bottle, Chicago

No amount of hyperbole, no string of superlatives could ever accurately convey the rapture that erupted when Chicago’s own Bobby Conn, together with his Glass Gypsies, take to the stage in support of their latest release, 'The Homeland'. Straight to the point, the most compelling performer drawing oxygen in the universe today is living in Chicago—something to take solace in as America falls on its knees for ponce-chancers The Darkness. In truth, that would be the be-all, end-all of double bills, Bobby Conn with The Darkness (apologies to Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera), although the virtuosity of Bobby would soon render Justin Hawkins useless.

The poise and polish of the Glass Gypsies is staggering. Remember that scene from Easy Rider, where the camera pans a 360 on all the commune screwballs, only to settle on the bearded Jesus golden fleece hippy? That’d be Pearly Sweets, also of buoyant trio Baby Teeth, who moonlights as keyboardist for Bobby Conn. Pearly is the only one on stage as Bobby gently dispenses of a bouquet to launch 'Home Sweet Home', centerpiece ballad of 'The Homeland'. Bobby crowdsurfs the first verse all the way to the barstools, whereupon he hops atop the bar, a one-man Coyote Ugly, crooning as the rest of the Gypsies prep their instruments to send home the song’s harmonic climax.

Ask your uncle about John Mellencamp, add eyeshadow, panache, and pertinence, and there you have the Glass Gypsies. This is the School of Rock, all grown up, with Jack Black on a strict glam Atkins diet consisting solely of Bowie and Bolan.

When a sweaty T-shirt is flung to the stage, Monica BouBou, violinist foil to Conn, ousts it without so much as a second’s hesitation, using her instrument’s bow, or, quite possibly a golf club—hard to tell with flailing limbs.

There’s Bobby in pink spandex flares, look at Monica, resplendent in a sweater. The raucous, louder second set (decibels to deafen Part Chimp) draws from Bobby’s back catalogue, including an exhilarating send-up of 'Winners' from 'The Golden Age'. "This song is for a friend of mine", says Bobby, introducing Unexpected Cover Song of the Night, "a friend who is in trouble." What follows is a rendition of 'Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough' so spot on, that, if the fates are in our corner, Justin Timberlake will be forced into early retirement. The fingertap shredding from crowd favourite Sledd, he of Dokken Coif and Eddie Van Halen dexterity, ensures that the ears of all attendees will be ringing well past noon the following day.

And all who attended will attest that what they witnessed was nothing short of historic, passing into the canon of legendary shows, like Radiohead circa 1997. An early version of the Oxford quintet’s logo featured a lowercase ‘r’ stretched the width of the globe.

Perhaps it’s time Bobby Conn appropriated that logo for himself.

Photo by Josh Cox