Har Mar Superstar
October 24, 2004
Hi-Dive, Denver

Rather than immediately immerse in the orgiastic crowd in the Hi-dive, I entered Sputnik bar first, and found co-owner Matt LaBarge polishing off a quick bite. Matt had just seen Har Mar Superstar’s sound check, and he leaned in, as if he had been made privy to a lascivious secret (I think it was so he didn’t have to shout with a hamburger in his mouth, but it felt like I was getting some gossip…) He said, simply, “Man, this show is gonna be goooood.”

My last experience with Har Mar was on a very big stage in Jolly Olde England, and he was accompanied by an entire troupe of sexy dancing girls. I wondered what he could possibly have in store to top that.

Minnesota native, Mr. Superstar-known to some, sometimes, as Sean Na Na, and known familiarly as Sean Tillman-has, in fact, beefed up his performance. He is now accompanied by more than hot sass and his minidisk player: tight rhythms come from a live drummer (who’s name I don’t recall) and rocking bass lines are provided by a stunning Finnish rock 'n' roll doll (who’s name I cannot spell.)

The Mar himself is also looking better than ever, slim and trim (to make room for the band??) and rocking red, white and blue draw-string drawers smattered with the all-important message, “VOTE.”

He took the stage and kicked off letting the crowd know, “I haven’t been to the altitude of Denver in a while, and I’m kinda wasted.” To which an audience member replied, “Yeah, I don’t know what altitude this is, but we’re really high.”

Har Mar’s vocals sounded as good as ever, and the richness of the show with live bass and drums made a drastic difference from his digital-accompaniment-only era. He’s also definitely been keeping up the skills of his stage presence. A near striptease act and plenty of crowd interaction sent everyone into a sexy sweaty frenzy, crescendo-ing when he decided to “Back The Camel Up” to the Plexiglas outlook on the side of the stage, and then serenade us from atop the Hi-dive’s bar.

With the set completed, Har Mar traveled the room, signing undies, kissing babes, and even gnawing just a little on the cheek of yours truly. (I’ll never wash.)
If you didn’t catch this performance, you can hear the equally epic release, The Handler (Record Collection Music), and I recommend you get on board with the next opportunity see his performance. While Har Mar Superstar has proved to ever improve, eventually you won’t able to get as close to the white hot heat as you want-cuz this group is headed straight toward the stadium, people.

- Jef Hoskins