Big Hat, a band that describes its sound as “not as hard as frozen pizzas and not as soft as a baby’s bottom,” will be appearing tonight at 9 p.m. at the Coffeehouse, 131 E. Lincoln Hwy.

The band consists of Lorien, saxophone; Char Malloy-Baum, violin; Preston Klik, keyboards, melodica and trumpet; Jim Stallman, percussion; and Yvonne Bruner, vocals and tin whistle.

This unusual assortment of musicians and instruments presents its alternative, airy and dreamy music in a way that is hard not to notice. Their stage set consists of many gimmicks, including illuminated signs that introduce each song, showering the audience with rose petals and an actual tree of pots that the percussionist plays.

The band’s name comes from the big Alice-In-Wonderland-style hat Bruner wears. In fact, all the members of Big Hat dress in a way that matches their music. Feather boas, Renaissance-style clothes and fishnet stockings adorn the two men and three women in the band.

Kurt Halsted, manager of the Coffeehouse, expects a big turnout for Big Hat. “It should be a major show. They’re a more avant-garde group,” he said. The band asked for dimensions of the Coffeehouse’s stage ahead of time so it could plan on which eccentric stage props it could and could not use for the show, Halsted said.

Big Hat has been together only 11 months, but its members all have extensive musical experience. For example, Stallman studied music at Berkley for three years, and Malloy-Baum has played the violin since age six. Klik has been in a variety of bands that range from rock to techno-synth.

The list of places Big Hat has played at is also an impressive one. In Chicago, they’ve played the Avalon, the Cabaret Metro and opened for the Sundays at the Vic Theatre. They also were the first alternative band to headline at Glam Slam, Prince’s new club in Minneapolis.

There will be a $3 cover charge for the Big Hat show. Saturday night, the blues-rock band Fang Beach also will be playing at the Coffeehouse, with a $3 cover charge. Both bands hail from Chicago.