Pop : Havalinas Tripped Up by Too Much Talk

The Havalinas opened their set at Bogart’s on Friday with a bang: their recent debut album’s best song, the aggressively green “Good for Nothin’ Rag,” delivered by the trio with enough energy and spirit for a group twice as large. But then it happened. Frontman Tim McConnell started talking.

His affected jive-speak is worse than off-putting, it’s obnoxious. In a whine that stung like Ripple, he droned on pointlessly about having to wait in line--which is what many members of the overflow crowd had done for an hour to get into the show--and the repercussions of his effusive use of profanity.

It’s hard to take any group seriously, no matter how musically adept, when it’s led by someone who apparently fancies himself a cross between Maynard G. Krebs and Damon Wayans’ homeless drunk on “In Living Color.”

Fortunately, McConnell’s musical persona--and that of his band--is far more appealing. Anchored by Smutty Smith’s buoyant stand-up bass, the Havalinas coursed through an eclectic array of material that lacked only the rockabilly you might expect from a group so configured. McConnell’s songs, while a bit trite lyrically, are well-intentioned and effectively showcase the trio’s formidable instrumental skills.

So what’s a fan of the Havalinas’ music to do? Easy. Stay home and listen to the record. You can turn it off when you want to.