The Blue Ribbon Glee Club sings "California Uber Alles"

Glee Club video mashup #2

These locals tip the scales at around 30 members, culled from the lineups of other Chicago groups, but you can't blame that on the Polyphonic Sufjan mega-band trend—they're a bona fide glee club. Their sound is so wobbly, so amateur and informal, that calling them a choir would be a bit grandiose, and they plunge into the songs they've chosen—mostly punk and indie-rock standards—with a reckless enthusiasm for which glee is really the only proper synonym. They ooh and aah and bomp-bomp-baah their way through Fugazi's "Waiting Room" and the Clash's "Spanish Bombs," bringing out the songs' latent whimsy—plus you can finally understand all the words. Performances are entirely a cappella, save for some sparse drumming or tambourine shaking—they even sing the riffs and solos. —Jessica Hopper/CHICAGO READER



BLUE RIBBON GLEE CLUB:
www.myspace.com/theblueribbongleeclub


glee (less info)