My ears are still ringing from Foxy Shazam's show at the Orpheum Tuesday night, where I stood mere inches away from the stage, close enough to see the burning embers on lead singer Eric Nally's cigarettes before he swallowed them. That was just one of the highlights of the night.

Before Foxy Shazam delved into their shenanigans, though, a couple of openers played brief sets.

Dr. Manhattan (pictured at right), a group of quirky guys from Illinois, opened the show and entertained the crowd pretty well with fast-paced danceable numbers that got the early arrivals moving. For their song "Nuclear Embrace," the stage lights were turned off and each band member donned glasses with mini flashlights on the sides. It was silly, but entertaining and the sound was pretty good. I was less impressed with the A.K.A.'s. They were decent, but at that point, I was restless to see Foxy so I was less than appreciative of the band's out-of-control rhythms.

Then it was Foxy's turn. Lead singer Nally theatrically grabbed the microphone shortly after the five-member band (plus touring member Alex Nauth, who did a fantastic job on trumpet and accompanying vocals) took the stage and launched into the first of about a five song introductions. And by introductions, I mean short, nonsensical stories that seemed to have nothing to do with the song that followed. An example: "Me and my girlfriend, we were putting our kid to bed one night, and the blinds were drawn, but they were open, and then moon was shining through the slits, and I looked over at her on the bed, and I said, "Baby, you look like a zebra."

This article appears in Feb 11-17, 2009.