Glam Marvelous 3 Puts Antics in High Gear to Rock and Mock

The tattooed lads of the Atlanta glam-pop trio Marvelous 3 came to the Whisky to rawk on Wednesday, and they worked hard to impress a crowd that was most familiar with the single “Freak of the Week.” But there was a whiff of desperation to singer-guitarist Butch Walker’s cartoonish glee, and the hourlong set, while sometimes enjoyable, felt utterly contrived.

Performing most of the bouncy anthems and biting heartbreak tunes from its current “Hey! Album,” the group abandoned the recording’s relatively restrained charms for slick, punky power-pop treatments that were genuinely high-energy, yet never sincere. Walker punctuated every other line with googly-eyed self-mockery that bordered on contempt for the audience, staged endless pick-flinging stunts with bassist Jayce Fincher, and engaged in intentionally ridiculous histrionics, including a goofy take on part of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

It was nice to see a band not take itself too seriously, but these antics only underscored the sense that the band’s chief goal was to be a hit. Earlier this decade, these guys were in a hard-rock act, and the red-and-black color scheme of their stage attire and equipment seemed left over from some transitory new-wave incarnation.

The music displayed an expert grasp of pop styles from David Bowie to Elvis Costello, yet at its core there was nothing but a lack of conviction.