Striving to shed their Weezer wings, Mikey Walsh and Pat Wilson brought their new project, Special Goodness, to the M-Shop Monday night, the only Iowa stop on their fall tour.

The Creature Comforts joined them as the opener for the 8 p.m. show. Clad in swanky suits and ties, the Lawrence, Kan. foursome appeased the crowd with their power pop songs for a solid 45 minutes.

Their set began with keyboard accompaniment, but in the middle the keyboardist strapped on an electric Gretsch for “Sincerely Me.”

The transition of instruments proved to be a challenge as he broke one of the strings on his guitar before the song was half done. The remaining Creatures made it through the tune as if nothing had happened, but the dilemma left some awkward time before the next ditty could get under way.

The rest of the set went on smoothly, with the Creature Comforts using common pop gimmicks until the very end. Four-chord verses were common among the typical palm muted pre-choruses. And every now and again a screeching one or two-note fill would be added to complete their power pop formula.

After an extensive lag time, the nearly packed M-Shop got its first taste of Special Goodness. Wilson’s move from Weezer drummer to lead vocals and sole guitar player for the trio proved to be a valiant effort.

All three members plowed through their entire set, stopping only for their grumpy drummer to express his dissatisfaction with the bass drum microphone.

Their sound went beyond the power pop of the opener by including some more complicated melodies, frequent mini guitar solos and prominent bass lines loaded with distortion.

After a rifling performance, including the drum-heavy “Fatigue,” a pretty “Riff” and the more catchy “Life Goes By,” the show halted to a stop.

Not even the people who were following along with the set list that was duct taped to the stage anticipated the end was upon them.

“That’s our entire repertoire, so I hope you feel satisfied,” Wilson told the crowd. After respectable applause, it would seem that the masses had gotten their five bucks worth and were indeed quite satisfied.

Although it wasn’t as radio friendly as some Weezer die-hards may have hoped, Special Goodness is a band that is sure to start growing on people.

The trio’s upcoming spring debut can give music fans another glimpse into the other Weezer side project.