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By Rob Messinger 
Columbus Dispatch
Sunday, March 26, 2000 


The encore usually is a silly game of who's fooling
whom. The band leaves the stage, the crowd hoots and
hollers -- knowing the band plans to return -- then
the band skips onstage triumphantly, as if it has been
called back by fans too ravenous to let the night end.

The Guided by Voices show that began late Friday night
and spilled into the wee hours yesterday proved there
are exceptions to this staged spectacle.

When the house lights go on, that's usually the sign
the game is over. But die-hard fans at Alrosa Villa
wouldn't let the night end, bringing the Dayton cult
faves back for a third encore at 1:10 a.m.

Singer-songwriter Robert Pollard and the boys obliged,
churning out stumbling, drunken versions of Hold on
Hope and Motor Away before giving up for good. For all
the beer he'd downed, Pollard was still doing rope
tricks with his microphone cord and performing
groin-defying high kicks. But a night of cigarettes
and drinking had taken their toll on Pollard's
singing, leaving him hoarse and sometimes careless
about his tunes.

The release of the compact disc Do the Collapse last
year signaled a major step forward for Guided By
Voices. For the first time, the band abandoned the
low- fi sound that had been its signature. Former Cars
leader Ric Ocasek, who produced the album, provided a
crystal-clear mix, added keyboards and gave Pollard's
alterna-pop ditties a stadium-ready sheen.

Forget replicating the sound in concert -- Pollard and
the boys like their booze too much. Pollard's agenda,
as he described it to the crowd, is three-part: "Drink
a lot of beer, get on stage, play lots of songs. It's
(expletive) simple. Don't make it rocket science.''

The formula seemed to work for fans in the pit, who
responded in kind every time Pollard punched his fist
in the air, struck a pose and sang off-key. Drawing
from Do the Collapse as often as from older albums
such as Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, the band ripped
off version after version of its 2 1/2 -minute ear
candy.

That the band can keep up with Pollard's rambling
intros is itself impressive. Before the previous song
has completely died out, Pollard is mumbling about the
next one, often interchanging lyrics for song titles.

"This is 'Living Without You is Difficult But Our Dead
Dreams Awake in My Mushroom Art,' '' he told the crowd
before counting off the start of Mushroom Art. The
band must have been keeping its own time, for his "1,
2 . . .'' couldn't have been in tempo.

Unfortunately, Pollard's singing was less impressive.
His capacity for alcohol is legendary, but he usually
has more control over himself. Especially on the
cleaned-up tracks of Do the Collapse, his slurred
warble proved a disappointing comparison.

Luckily, guitarist Doug Gillard and drummer Jim
MacPherson kept the band together, Gillard with his
choppy licks and MacPherson with an arm-numbing attack
on the skins. Meanwhile, bassist Greg Demos' goofy
grins and guitarist Nate Farley's constant posing
provided the comic relief.