Monster Bobby, Pipettes play Diesel tonight

“Monster Bobby and The Pipettes” Tonight, Diesel Club Lounge 7 p.m. Tickets: $10 in… “Monster Bobby and The Pipettes” Tonight, Diesel Club Lounge 7 p.m. Tickets: $10 in advance, $12 at the door

Tonight the British will be invading Club Diesel with performances by two underground English pop sensations, Monster Bobby and The Pipettes.

Monster Bobby will be pulling double duty on his seven-date North American tour by performing as the lead guitarist in The Pipettes’ back up band The Cassettes, as well as playing a set of his own music to open up the show.

Their brief tour of America and Canada started in Baltimore on Nov. 11, and will wrap up on Nov. 21 in Chicago.

Monster Bobby’s scratchy, static-filled music is a sharp contrast to the clean cut, girly retro pop music he creates while playing with the Pipettes. Opening for the Pipettes on the tour will give him the opportunity to promote his new CD, Gaps, which was released in the US this past summer on July 17.

Gaps, Monster Bobby’s first solo release, is a lengthy 17-track album with an interesting sound reminiscent of The Postal Service and Sufjan Stevens.

The album is filled with original tracks – essentially pop music that has been distorted and edited to give them an entirely unconventional sound that is far off the path beaten by Justin Timberlake, John Mayer and other contemporary artists.

In a recent telephone interview, Monster Bobby described his music by saying:

“I am not aiming for the sublime form and sweet harmonious sonority of Mozart, rather noise, silence, static, and error. Things going wrong. Things breaking down.”

He described what he practices musically as “essentially a sort of anti-poetry, an inaesthetic. The form and content of my music is not the beautiful nor the sensually pleasing but the monstrous,” he said, explaining his stage name.

Since “Gaps” is very much an electronic pop album that uses studio elements to create it’s unique sound, it makes the task of recreating it on stage a challenging one. Monster Bobby admits, “The sound of my live show is quite different to the sound of my record.”

Though it’s difficult to reconstruct the exact sound of his album, Monster Bobby explained, “That’s not to say, however, that I don’t make certain concessions to the electronic pop sound that I get on the record. My trusty Dr. Sample sends loops going and I do my best to keep them under control while playing guitar every now and then.”

Pulling double duty on the tour has created a hectic schedule for Monster Bobby. He described the ups and downs of opening for The Pipettes as well as playing with them.

“There have been days when I’ve not had time even to wash or eat a proper meal.” Monster Bobby said. “But on the other hand, I’ve got to promote my record. And with the schedule I have with The Pipettes, I’d never have the time off to do a month long tour of the states on my own (let alone the money).”

He described the difference between performing solo versus playing with The Pipettes as “both satisfying different urges and instincts, provid[ing] different satisfactions. It’s a bit like having a nice dinner- and pudding too!” Monster Bobby said.

Monster Bobby and The Pipettes will be playing in the South Side’s Club Diesel Lounge tonight at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.