I love the Rendezvous very much. I love that bands can basically take over the back room and play free shows. This past Thursday's show was free, which was great. Still, I must admit that because it was free, I assumed it would suck. And it didn't suck. In fact, I couldn't have been more pleased, tucked comfortably up in back as I was, in a big red booth with a sweet server bringing me cheap water in big bottles and the band Pop bringing me great referential material--sort of like a jukebox of all-time fun pop references, but in a dynamic set of originals.

I'm talking the Beatles and the Beach Boys, David Bowie and T. Rex, Joe Jackson, Squeeze, Queen, even Marc Almond... the list could go on. I was amazed when a friend of the band told me this was Pop's first show, given that the performance seemed so seasoned--but it all made sense once I spoke to singer/pianist/songwriter Gary Reynolds. Reynolds just moved here from New York, and while he and his new band have had only five rehearsals together (this show being the fifth), Reynolds has had plenty of time to flesh out the material, on his own and with other musicians. He even has much of it on a CD called More Disposable Pop Songs, released by Reynolds' own label, Electrokitty Records.

From the brief conversation I had with Reynolds, it seems he met drummer Perry Morgan, guitarist Travis Luther, and bassist Ryan Anderson here in Seattle, and recruited them all to play his music. Reynolds seems to have done well for himself. Luther is a fun guitar player. He keeps his sound relatively clean, and does a fine job of playing off Reynolds' catchy vocal melodies. At times Luther's parts seem corny, clichéd, or "studio," if you will, but that never bothered me in the context of this band. The point of Pop, it seems, is to have fun and to write great hooks. Both fun and hooks were abundant in the material, and Luther's guitar-playing was a large part of that.

The drumming was more impressive. Perry Morgan's performance was as upbeat and spotless as Reynolds' bright music seemed to be asking for. While I despise the term "toe-tapping" for obvious reasons, I'm going to use it here. The show had a "sizzle" to it, the kind of pop heat I think of with Squeeze, or perhaps even more with someone like Billy Joel. And this is piano pop, after all. Morgan and bassist Ryan Anderson, as a rhythm section, didn't seem to be having much trouble holding it all together, unpracticed or not--which left the weight of the performance to be carried by Reynolds, who was great.

It's clear that Reynolds loves music very much: He loves to write it, he loves to play it, and, most importantly, he loves to hear it. Which is why his music reveals its many influences so boldly, and also the primary reason Reynolds filled the Rendezvous with a vivid musical presence and a truly passionate singing voice. When Reynolds sang, it was bright and pitch-perfect: the wail of a classic piano-pop frontman, with the rawness of Ziggy-era Bowie. When Reynolds screamed, it seemed as though the sound was being torn from his body, lending the show a gnarlier texture. At times he could have used his voice a bit less, but for the most part he was dead on.

I'm excited about this band. Pop has a big, unusually upbeat sound for Seattle. I hope Reynolds sticks around and helps diversify the music scene. I want to see him play many shows, to remind Seattle how to have fun. To help make our gray little city go pop.