LONDON -- A disappointing -- but not disappointed -- crowd of about 1,200 persons attended the the Crash Test Dummies' grandstand concert at Western Fair last night. The band immediately showed its appreciation to those who had braved the September evening chill, by doing Give Yourself a Hand, the bluesy title tune from the Winnipeg rockers' fourth and latest album. It and the more familiar follow-up offering, God Shuffled His Feet, featured the group's trademark sound: the ultra-deep baritone voice of lead singer Brad Roberts. He got more than a little competition for the spotlight from keyboardist Ellen Reid, who displayed her countrified rock voice on The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead (from the movie soundtrack for Dumb and Dumber) and sultry, sexy tones on the provocative Get You in the Morning. Between those two tunes, Reid did the Birthday Song, honouring Mitch Dorge, Dummies' exceptionally fine drummer, who turned 34 yesterday. Such whimsy is typical of the Crash Test Dummies, who specialize in manic melodies laced with quirky lyrics. Perfect examples include the likes of How Does a Duck Know, Androgynous and I Love Goo, a charming little ditty about necrophilia. But then, playful irreverence has been one of the elements that's marked the Crash Testers as special since 1990, when the five-member combo gave up being the house band in a Winnipeg bar to become one of Canada's most prominent pop groups. The Forest City has a significant place in the Dummies' history. They paid a visit to University of Western Ontario on the group's first national tour in 1990; played Western Fair, seven years ago and, this past March, ended a two-year absence from live performing with a gig at the Drink, a London nightclub. Musically, the Crash Test formula blends country, Irish traditional, modern folk and funky blues influences. During their 70-minute grandstand set, they switched gears seamlessly, going from Roberts' raucous rendition of I Want to Par-tay to Reid's cool delivery of Just Chillin' and A Little Something. The obligatory encore featured Superman's Song, the hit that put Crash Test Dummies on the pop music map in 1991 and Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm, the Grammy-nominated single from God Shuffled His Feet (1994), the group's most successful album todate. The show's most nagging flaw emerged whenever Roberts' banter overran the bounds of good taste. In the middle of introducing the band members -- including his younger brother Dan Roberts (bass) and Benjamin Darvil (harmonica/mandolin) -- the group leader gave a rather raunchy monologue about male genitalia. Perhaps the 35-year-old musician should take the advice offered by his own composition: Keep a Lid on It. Roberts was genuinely funny doing A Cigarette Is all You Get, a satiric anti-smoking song he dedicated to the Canadian tobacco company which sponsored a recent Dummies concert. Last night's opening act was Choclair, a Toronto rapper who had the audience's younger members hip hopping to numbers such as Let's Ride, from his album Ice Cold slated for release in early November.