The Mr. T Experience

February 8 - 15, 1 9 9 6

**1/2 The Mr. T Experience

LOVE IS DEAD

(Lookout!)

"Our friends are all busy with their own affairs, becoming punk rock millionaires," laments MTX singer/guitarist Dr. Frank. "They're taping their live album at the Hollywood Bowl, we're taping our flyers to the telephone pole." Sound like sour grapes? Not really. The semi-autobiographical "Dumb Little Band" ("not exactly in demand") is just the enduring Berkeley punk-rock archetype, about a trio who load all their own gear, play to empty rooms, keep boring day jobs, suffer the indignity of endless Green Day comparisons, and seem doomed to the self-destructive album/tour/break-up/re-form cycle.

And indeed the Mr. T Experience are the archetypal Berkeley punk band -- been around since forever, guitars sound like the Ramones, harmonies remind you of the Fastbacks, write love songs with that John Waters post-puppy-love twinkle in their eye and depression songs ("That Prozac Moment") that invariably perk you up. Even the blatant fuck songs, "I Just Wanna Do It with You" and "Can I Do the Thing?," are practically PG. The album is invariably a ton of fun, with clever turns of phrase lurking behind every other love-suckered chord: "I'll do anything for you, but I can never think of anything to do"; "Boy meets girl, girl teases boy, boy looks for something to destroy." Love Is Dead suggests just the opposite of its title: as long as there are three chords and a teenager, there's gonna be love at first sight.

-- Carly Carioli

(The Mr. T Experience play the Rat this Tuesday, February 13.)