A Night With Frank Sidebottom

Last night we went to a bar on the upper east side to see a friend of a friend's band play. The bar was one of those places that you could live next door to for years without ever knowing it was there. The entrance was just a plain, red door without a sign or anything. When you walk in, you immediately go down a flight of stairs and it opens into a pretty plain looking, big open room with a small stage in the corner.

Shortly after we arrived, the friend's friend starting playing and it was rather unexciting. They were a mediocre attempt at Weezer. And actually, by the time they finished their set, the place had mostly emptied out. The night seemed like somewhat of a bust, but then the next act came on...



That, my friends, is Frank Sidebottom. Unlike the cheering Londoners in the video, we were just confused Americans. But even though no one knew exactly what was going on, everyone was enthralled. He had costume changes, added and removed a mustach and sideburns, and danced around with a small puppet of himself. It was just so random. People were snapping cell phone videos and pictures left and right. (Most likely so the next day they could show their friends and say, "I had the most random night last night...")

As I always do when confronted with something I don't know, I pulled out my phone and went to Wikipedia. Frank Sidebottom is an English comedian (real name Chris Sievey) who gained popularity in England in the late 80s. He appeared on all sorts of shows across England before falling into obscurity in the 90s. He was rediscovered in 2005 and apparently this is all part of his comeback tour. He was funny because he was so bizarre, but I don't think his British humor (humour?) is going to work on Americans.