Even with a feature story on the band in the News-Press Friday, it wasn't enough to convince many people to brave the cold, icy conditions to see Marshalltown, Iowa-alternative rock band Helmer play at The Rendezvous.

But considering the overall sloppy and slightly uninspired performance they delivered, people may have been smart to stay in.

With the group manning their instruments, David Helmer, sporting some black-rimmed glasses and fierce side burns, did manage to rip through a few songs with the melodic pop-punk promise of songs from their MySpace profile. When the band performed "Moon," it was enough of a mix of sugar and punch to make Paul Westerberg proud. Plus, their acoustic '90s Brit pop-style ballad "Alone So Badly" had the right acoustic/electric blend to garner comparisons to bands like Travis or Coldplay's smash "Yellow."

Of course, David Helmer is no Chris Martin and doesn't try to be. His West coast punk vocals hover around the notes instead of nailing them, which give the songs a different feel and also give me the impression that the band's punk influences might include Rancid in addition to The Clash. I got a particular joy out of watching Blake Oleson on drums, who's babyface was further enhanced by the childlike glee he got from hitting the crap out of a ride cymbal.

By all accounts, what I have said WOULD have made this a great show. Unfortunately, the band seemed ill-prepared for nearly a third of their set.

It was painfully obvious that the group hadn't practiced enough before their performance with guitarist Philip Payton trying his best to choreograph the chord changes of the song "Positive" to bassist Levi Hood with audibly poor results. Another song they flubbed sounded a lot like a late '90s song by Cracker, if the bass player missed practice for a week.

In addition to the band sounding less than polished, they seemed to let the lacking crowd effect their motivation, treating the performance like a band rehearsal in a heated garage instead of trying to blow the few listeners away with a solid show.

I think Helmer definitely has a good sound, but the next time they return to Joetown, they should try playing like people are actually watching.