Eccentric Humor Is a Big Part of the Problem

An unusual pop cabaret, the Negro Problem is a band with a provocative name, a loose-limbed sound and songs that are equal parts spiky social criticism and eccentric humor. Despite its category-defying sound and on-the-fringe smarts, it is also one of the most highly praised local club acts around, with an independent debut album, “Post Minstrel Syndrome,” that is a big seller at Los Angeles record stores.

At the Largo on Wednesday, the band played an acoustic-heavy set that highlighted singer and guitarist Mark “Stew” Stewart’s incisive songwriting and the group’s deep-seated unorthodox bent.

A live band at the core, TNP hinted of such widespread influences as weird rockers Mothers of Invention, pop king Burt Bacharach and psychedelic-funk collective Sly and the Family Stone. The set explained the group’s popularity--and its minor-label status.

It also showcased a reshuffled lineup. The band has had its share of hurdles over the past year: losing two members (including its signature accordion) and reconvening with a flutist, Lisa Jenio, and keyboardist Probyn Gregory. But the centerpiece of the act is Stew (the Negro Problem’s sole African American), a large, arresting frontman who sang with hypnotic confidence about media figures and the constant buzz of radio, television and conversations that penetrate everyday life.

Though Stew is indeed a highly talented wordsmith, the group’s shifts--from folk-rock to rangy psychedelia, quirky keyboards to sugar-fueled “la-la-la” pop, sometimes all in one song--could prove to be a hurdle that prevents it from breaking out beyond the local scene.