Why would punks, stoners, rowdy jocks and people, who look like they just crawled out of D-level, all pack themselves into a room barely larger than the average AMR dorm room? This was the scene at the Ottobar on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 22, and the reason for such an amalgamation of young people was Wesley Willis. This six-foot, 300-pound Chicago-area schizophrenic has been making music for many years now, and is currently on the road sharing his unique sound with hundreds of adoring fans.
I had only even heard of Wesley Willis that afternoon, but after listening to "Shoot me in the ass" and "Birdman kicked my ass," in a friend's room, I was an instant convert. News of Wesley Willis's imminent appearance at the Ottobar spread quickly throughout my building, and I was surprised at how many people knew of him and jumped at the opportunity to see this nut.
We arrived at the Ottobar at around 10 p.m., in time to catch the opening act, a metal band called Cutthroats 9. I liked the slow, bass-heavy sound of this three-piece, but the crowd slowly thinned throughout the set, people filing outside to sit on the curb and wait for Wesley. The venue itself is cramped and dank, but the sound system wasn't bad, and it reminded me of some smaller punk rock clubs I'd been to in New York. The second performance was a one-man act, which tried his best to imitate Wesley Willis, but there was one major flaw: it was sane! So, I left after only a few painful seconds.
But outside, seated in a parked Dodge Caravan, was the man himself. Wesley Willis was doing a pre-show meet and greet with fans, and I had the esteemed pleasure of meeting this prophetic musician. Gathered around the parked minivan, we were treated to an "unplugged" version of Wesley's new song "Osama bin Laden," which has a verse that states, "Osama, you're a real jerk." He also signed autographs, and even drew one lucky fan a picture of the World Trade Center. He insisted on asking everyone their names, sometimes repeatedly, and shaking everybody's hand - repeatedly. But even this special treat was nothing compared to the thrill of seeing Wesley Willis do his thing live on stage.
Willis lumbered up to the stage to chants of "Wes-ley, Wes-ley," and the Ottobar was now packed to the rafters with increasingly noisy fans. Wesley silenced the crowd with a hearty "Shut the fuck up!" and then proceeded to rock the joint. The music of Wesley Willis is truly like no other. Aided only by a Casio keyboard pumping pre-programmed beats into the PA system, Willis shouts his insane lyrics over the electronic din. Most of his songs are indistinguishable musically, and they all follow the same pattern: a verse, followed by a chorus, then a long "instrumental" section, followed by another verse and then the chorus. Although I couldn't make out a lot of the words, I would say his set list was strong. "Suck a Palomino's Dick" was the highlight of the show for me. However, Willis doesn't respond to the crowd in the way more traditional rock bands do. He would become indignant when a fan shouted out a song request, exclaiming, "I ain't playin' no repeats," and, "Don't try to cut my jam session short," although he did play crowd favorites such as "Rock and Roll McDonalds" and "Cut the Mullet."
Although Willis can be incredibly funny, the novelty definitely wears off after a while. For anyone looking for a good laugh, I would strongly recommend Wesley Willis. He may be interpreted as low-brow humor, but he's not afraid to come out and say what's really on our minds - well, some of us, anyway.
