The tiny C-Note (capacity seventy-four) was jam-packed when I arrived shortly before Helper's set last Friday night. I eventually made my way to the far end of the room, where I could see the tiny stage that the band's four members crowded onto. The crowd had thinned only slightly by the time Helper began their hour long set a few minutes before 10:30. You can get a get sense of the ensuing musical experience simply from a few of the song titles: Worm, Fanny Pack, Weirdo, and Blue Shampoo all made appearances during the evening.

But under lyrics like "You've got cold feet... you need some new socks" danced the beat of guitar-driven rock, bringing to mind no one so much as Weezer: rock tunes with ironic, dryly funny lyrics sung over them in a tenor almost juvenile in its simplicity. (You have only to visit their website (www.helperworld.com) to see further evidence of the band's sense of humor, with their contact number scribbled after "for a good time call," and with pictures of faux-newspaper clippings featuring the band members in an international sex scandal.)

Perfectly in place among the odd-but-entertaining lyrics was the small self-promoting jingle dropped into the introduction to one of the evening's later songs: "We're called Helper and we're here to please... we're called Helper and we're here to please." And from looking around the room that night, I would say that that was an accurate statement: from a few women right in front that sang along with several songs, to the friend of drummer Dave Shalansky who took the stage to play some impromptu tambourine, to a crowd generally bopping along to the fast beats and prominent bass lines, everyone present really seemed to enjoy the evening.

You may need to listen to a few songs before you begin to understand what Helper is all about, but once you do I predict you'll want to hear more.