POP MUSIC REVIEW : Sweating It Out With Urge Overkill

There were two tough battles at Jabberjaw on Wednesday. One pitted Urge Overkill, the hot, highly entertaining alternative pop band from Chicago that’s just made its major-label debut, against the urge to get out of the even hotter sauna of an overstuffed mid-city coffeehouse and get some air.

The other battle pitted the group’s strong, witty power-pop--free of the frills and indulgences often associated with both sides of that equation--against its wacky fashion sense--all frills and indulgences, paying homage to every cheesy pop cash-in from the Monkees to “Saturday Night Fever.”

The first was close, but in the end the music lost, as the stream of people fleeing for the patio steadily increased through the course of the hourlong set. Even the band, which had been fighting technical difficulties all night, quit before playing its planned encores. Still, it was largely worth the discomfort to hear the catchy lines and crunchy chords--a heavier version of semi-legendary Illinois antecedent the Shoes. Or, given the band’s image, maybe a Banana Splits from some dapper parallel rock universe.

That fashion aspect--the four musicians were dressed in matching outfits of black hip-huggers, vests and gold “UO” medallions hanging on bare chests--is distractingly silly. On the other hand, it is good fun, and it sure beats seeing another band in flannel.