Recap Clem Snide at High Noon Saloon

It’s hard to believe that the freshly reunited Clem Snide has been around for 18 years. The trio actually looked excited to be playing the High Noon Saloon on Thursday night, their new music still carries the same asymmetrical charm as it did on their 1998 album, You Were A Diamond, and leader Eef Barzelay still looks like he will probably be carded in the line to see Terminator: Salvation next month. When Clem Snide hit the stage, Barzelay spelled out the name of his band like a sleepy cheerleader, flailed his arms, and gave an excited smile. The band sprung out with an awesome rocker tentatively titled “WALMART.”

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve been to Madison, so I thought I should share something with you; I’m a very generous lover,” Barzelay said. “Actually no, Brendan [Fitzpatrick, bassist] is the amazing lover here. I’m quick like ‘bam’!” Throughout the night, Barzelay shared his wisdom on '90s pop music, circumcisions, and the notion that his heart is “wheelchair-accessible.” In his thick-rimmed glasses and Freddy Krueger-esque sweater, Barzelay’s was in an awkwardly swaggering form as he balanced his shaky voice perfectly over his jazz-infused chord progressions. The tasteful bass lines of Brendan Fitzpatrick seeped into the awesome dynamics of drummer Ben Martin, who could shift from a Bonham-lite monster to Mick Fleetwood for songs like “Tuesday, October 24th,” during which he traded his sticks in for a pair of mallets.

Touring behind their latest record, Hungry Bird (which The A.V. Club snuggled up to last month), the trio stretched across their extensive back catalog, including their haunting cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Yip/Jump Music.” After the whimsical “Ice Cube,” the threesome left the stage only to return and play a whopping six encores. Before the rest of the band rejoined him, Barzelay worked his way through “African Friend” and even took up a fan’s request to play “Joan Jett Of Arc.” The set hit its climax during “Me No,” which found several audience members shouting the lyrics right along with him. As Clem Snide closed with “Man In The Mirror,” Barzelay, Martin, and Fitzpatrick all wore big smiles, coming off as a band that has reunited purely for the love of working together.