Yes, I am Afraid of Figs.

When Tee of Afraid of Figs talked me into attending the show at The Belltower on Friday, he informed me that it would be "like nothing you've ever heard before."

I ran into Tee and his loyal merch boy on the way out of the Compton Union Building on Friday afternoon, while they were being accosted by a CUB employee for hanging up flyers on the doors and windows. I struck up a conversation with them after jumping to their defense (I try to back up my Belltower buddies as much as possible). One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was on their list for press coverage that night.

He was only partially right--the music was not quite my style, so my bias is immediately going to show. When they started into their poster song, "I Ate a Vegan," the first two bands that came to mind should probably not be said in the same sentence: They Might be Giants and The Barenaked Ladies. I can't really tell if I was relieved or mortified to see the band bragging about this exact sound on their website (iateavegan.com, oddly enough).

The evening was a little bit of a blur, really; I hold the sensory overload responsible. There was an inflatable t-rex, a Ronald Regan sex doll, some old people in converse dancing provocatively, glow sticks, a singer in winged glasses and a "dyslexics untie" shirt--I'm not entirely sure what happened, but at some point I just really had to get up and leave.

Those who really love Barenaked Ladies--there have to be some of them out there--will love their songs. They never really go beyond the surface of the song; technically-constructed music with shoddy rhymes, promises the ability to make you dance as long as you're not paying attention to what anyone in the band is saying.

I really can't fault them for their energy. Tee was all over the stage, and had more costume changes than Lady Gaga must in a show. Saxophone player Crazy C really had mastery of his instruments--all three saxophones sounded absolutely superb (as a saxophone player, I'm revealing another bias; this one, however, allows me to appreciate skill). Every member of the band sang at least once, and everyone was technically proficient. And every member of the band spent the entire day before the show self-promoting.

"We've really never had a band put that much effort into promoting themselves," owner Andrew Forsman said. "The moment they got here, they grabbed some flyers and went out to put them up. No one's ever really done that much work."

A beacon of hope shined on the bass player, Arjay, when he stepped up for a tune. His voice far outshines Tee's, and has a real depth that actually put some emotion into their sound. I found myself intrigued--what would they sound like if they dropped the frantic, poorly-written silliness for actual music?

I don't think we'll ever know.