Pop Weekend : Bones: Sly, Nutty

The Fetchin’ Bones are less for people who understand the power of positive drinking than those who’ve mastered the power of positive winking .

From the moment the Bones hit the stage Friday at Big John’s in Anaheim and lit into the amphetamine-hoedown “Bed of Seems,”, until they closed out the encores with a sly, fairly faithful version of the Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!),” the North Carolina co-ed quintet was loose and spirited--and wasn’t about to take anything too seriously. Ditto the audience.

The result was a wacky, wonderful, grin-inspiring hullabaloo, spearheaded by lead singer Hope Nicholls. A nutty vision in black-and-white sartorial splendor (love those zebra tights!), Nicholls was an animated, constantly moving sock-hop wonder, covering as much ground vertically as horizontally.

What an odd, yet oddly effective, voice Nicholls has. It’s a wild, intense, slightly out-of-control howl, perfectly suited to the Bones’ rattling patchwork of garage rock, funk, propulsive pop, R&B;, power folk--and, yeah, the kitchen sink is probably in there somewhere. Funny but chic.