With your eyes open at a Har Mar Superstar concert, you'll see a balding, sweaty man-bear gyrating on stage as girls shove money into the tight-ass underwear he's stripped down to.
With your eyes shut, the only image you'll conjure is a smooth R&B dude with a Titus-touched voice; a voice with just enough dramatic vibrato in it to send you back to childhood days of choreographing dances in your bedroom to Another Bad Creation.
But one must have all eyes on Har Mar, a.k.a Sean Tillman , lest you miss him dropping it like it's hot with sizzling, down-on-both-knees dance moves that don't quit.
Though critics have tried to place him at the nucleus of irony, saying his silky tenor, which wins him constant comparison to Stevie Wonder and Off the Wall-era Michael Jackson, can't be meant to be taken seriously coming from a pudgy dude from St. Paul, Minn., Har Mar insists that his act has always been dead serious.
Har Mar, who released his latest album The Handler in September, is on tour with Ben Lee and coming to get all sexy on us at Plush tonight.
Har Mar talked to the Arizona Daily Wildcat by phone about his bumpin' U.K. fan base, and how he keeps from getting sick on the road.
Wildcat: You're really famous in the U.K., with lots of appearances in trashy tabloid magazines. Why do you think you get more attention over there than in the United States?
Har Mar: I think it's because their media is just a lot more up to date there. They have weekly magazines instead of monthlies, so there's more of chance to read about things and hear about things. I don't know, I think I just have more fans there. I think it's reflective of the fact that people there do more drugs and have sex a lot earlier too.
Wildcat: The Handler has been lauded by some critics as a truly great, straight up R&B album, while others are still clinging to the idea that you aren't serious. What do you say to those who insist your style is tongue-in-cheek?
Har Mar: When I make albums, I'm only thinking about myself. I'm not thinking about fans and I'm certainly not thinking about critics. If they can't realize now that I'm not joking, then they're idiots and they're not listening. A lot of people thought they were finding a joke in my music when there really wasn't ever one. If this was ever just a big joke, I don't know why I would have spent the last five years of my life doing this and wasting all my money.
Wildcat: How much do you differ from Har Mar? Is Har Mar sort of a persona you adopted when you were on stage and has it bled into your everyday personality?
Har Mar: I guess it's just sort of what happens to anyone who turns into their job. It's not really a persona at all, it's just what I do. But, I also think anyone in any band is acting to a certain extent when they get on stage. Motely Crüe? They're acting. It's about taking on a persona that simply isn't boring, or you'd be like Dashboard Confessional.
Wildcat: Do you have a favorite outfit that you like to wear on stage?
Har Mar: I've been switching it up a lot. I have a really good tuxedo thing I've been wearing lately that has a bunch of screen prints of my own face on it. And also, I've kind of been into a sailor-thing lately. And my friend makes things for me too.
Wildcat: What's your favorite, "getting ready to go out on a Saturday night" dance jam?
Har Mar: "I Was Made to Love Her" by Stevie Wonder.
Wildcat: How do you stay healthy on the road? Do you get sick of a lot of strangers making out with you and rubbing money on you?
Har Mar: No, I preserve myself with booze.
Wildcat: What's your favorite music for getting in the mood?
Har Mar: I don't need music to get in the mood.
See Har Mar rock the party that rocks your body tonight when he performs with Ben Lee and Maria Taylor at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St. $10. 798-1298. 9:30 p.m.