POP MUSIC REVIEW : Toad Beefs Up Sound for a Sunny Show

Toad the Wet Sprocket is a band of simple and somewhat fragile charms, and on record its gentle, wistful pop songs can drift by without much impact. In the Fairfax High School auditorium on Wednesday, however, the Santa Barbara-based band muscled up its sound with harder guitars and vibrant, lively vocals. Even for skeptics, it was hard not to be coaxed into the sunny mood of the performance.

A band that takes its name from a Monty Python skit, plays an impromptu version of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” celebrates humiliation in a song called “Stupid” and observes in another that a departing lover bends her words “like Uri Geller’s spoons” obviously has a sense of humor.

But the four musicians mostly worked their way through the well-paced, 90-minute set in a steady and earnest fashion. This seriousness of purpose was tempered by singer-guitarist Glen Phillips’ pleasantly nonchalant stage presence. Between songs, he discussed the overflowing backstage toilets, gargled and conducted a brief Q&A; session with the crowd.

Toad’s dramatic melodies and steady tempos don’t leave much room for stretching out musically, but the band energized each of its tunes with deft, dynamic playing and a kind of barefoot, blue-eyed soulfulness. New songs such as “Something’s Always Wrong” and “Fall Down” came off particularly well.