Copyright 1993 The Hartford Courant Company   
The Hartford Courant
June 3, 1993, A Edition
SECTION: CALENDAR; Pg. 17
LENGTH: 628 words
HEADLINE: Jellyfish has a sound not quite all their own
BYLINE: ROGER CATLIN; Courant Rock Critic
BODY:

     The last time Jellyfish was around, opening for World Party at
Toad's Place in September 1990, they looked weird in long hair and
colorfully strange clothes from the '70s.
     Stranger still was their perfectly-honed sound: not so much
like the Beatles as it personified Beatlesque, that early '70s
mishmash of harmonies, melodies, weird little studio experiments
and strange clothing of groups that revered the Fab Four sounds.
     Not only did songs from their "Bellybutton" LP sound like
outtakes from Paul McCartney's "Ram," but they also drove the point
home in concert with note-perfect covers of Badfinger's "No Matter
What." By the time the San Francisco quartet made it back to 
Toad's Tuesday night, it had already fulfilled some kind of dream
for writing and producing Beatlesque tracks for a real Beatle, on
Ringo Starr's most recent album. And Jellyfish had released an
album that seemed to hint their target was the four-part har
monies and ambitious time changes of Queen.  
     What's more, the group's colorful attire didn't look that much
out of place. Sure, Roger Manning's translucent cape was something
out of Rick Wakeman; and bassist Tim Smith's footlong collars
tucked out atop his vested outfit made him even more like the 
guy from "Scooby Doo" cartoons.
     But there were still several women in the audience Tuesday
with actual bell bottoms, proving that the world has come around to
the band's way of thinking to some degree.
     As always, though, the Jellyfish way is wilder, more garishly
colorful and pointed - especially so as a headliner. The stage was
draped in bright curtains of shiny tinsel, topped by billows of
tiny strings of Christmas lights; the band's name was spelled
 out fancifully on the multicolored pegs of a vintage Lite Brite
tray.
     With the four members in line across the stage, they bashed
out the sounds of that era -- from Gilbert O'Sullivan to Harry
Nilsson to the psychic harmonies of Klaatu.
     Maybe you don't hear voices like this anymore because there
are so few lead singers like Andy Sturmer, who can handle a range
that often goes up to falsetto even while standing and pounding on
the drums. The four-part harmonies are just as rare -- and su
rprising when music comes to a halt so you can hear them.
     But some of the material -- mostly from the new "Spilt Milk"
-- seems too fussy and complicated with its many time changes and
weird asides. References tend to spill out -- from cheesy Banana
Splits and Partridge Family (with his long center-parted hair 
and mod clothes, Manning looks a bit like Susan Dey) to "Smile"-era
Beach Boys vocal soaring.
     Jellyfish is so well-versed in the era, they're able to create
their own music using the same vocabulary. But they sound best when
they don't instantly recall some other forgotten band.

     As delighted as the crowd was, it still called out mostly for
the covers. The band obliged with a slightly more ragged "No Matter
What" but chose to play a tune by the obscure Roy Wood, of Wizzard
and early ELO, rather than "Jet."
     The evening got off to a good start with a set by Antenna, the
Bloomington, Ind., band that was the Blake Babies before Juliana
Hatfield went off to become the alternative-music solo darling.
     In the Blakes, guitarist J.P. Strohm took only an occasional
vocal turn; in the new band, he carries it with winsome vocals and
multieffects on his guitar. With bassist Jacob Smith on harmonies,
they bring back a kind of keening Byrdsian sound to songs t
hat typically begin at a Velvet Underground dirge and build. Smith
sings lead sometimes too, as on the catchy "Wallpaper."
     Throughout, drummer Freda Boner is fun to watch. Not only is
she enthusiastic, but she also is so small that when she hits the
bass drum she seems to jump.

GRAPHIC: Virgin Records Jellyfish references, and influences, range
from bell bottoms, the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Banana
Splits.