JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, it turns out, isn't the only white guy using his group's downtime as an opportunity to unleash his inner Michael Jackson. On hiatus from Imperial Teen for the latter half of this year, Will Schwartz has been busy performing infectious, Jacko-informed jams in Willpower – his dance-pop project with electro honcho Tomo and the two-person dance troupe of Donal Mosher and Chelsea Starr – and turning typically straight-faced rock audiences into the indie equivalents of 'Nsync teenybopper fans.

"You ready to fucking dance?" San Francisco's Schwartz asked by way of introduction earlier this month at the Hemlock Tavern, the same venue that hosted Willpower's live debut last August. Back then, few knew what to expect of a group originally conceived by Schwartz and the Aislers Set's Amy Linton in an R&B-pop brainstorm. But on this night – though only a handful of performances later (including gigs with Le Tigre and Gravy Train!!!!) – the group had the crowd shouting song requests, singing along, and indulging in the sort of diehard fan hysteria usually reserved for MTV's TRL. So, yes, when the show opened with "Double Fantasy II," people were ready to fucking dance.

And, really, why resist busting out your fave bedroom-mirror moves when you're watching a group whose idea of a come-on is "Let's get an exercise mat"? Worlds removed from Schwartz's more rock-oriented work in Imperial Teen, Willpower's PG-rated bump 'n' grind is all about the horizontal hustle. "I am OK with playing Truth or Dare / As long as you end up in your underwear," Schwartz sang like a smooth operator, a slinky groove that immediately established the half-hour, eight-song set's dance floor-friendly atmosphere.

While Mosher and Starr performed mercifully unironic acts of DIY choreography and Tomo worked the electronic gadgetry, Schwartz – lacking a Janet Jackson-style mic headset, sadly – led Willpower through such energetic rump-bumpers as "Retail Heaven," "Double Decker Bus," and the aptly titled highlight "Too Hot." Only the mid-set version of Blondie's "Dreaming" seemed slightly out of place, a cover better suited for the new wav-ier Imperial Teen. Given Willpower's original material, something by, say, Wham!, Janet, or even Michael – whose "Billie Jean" Schwartz has performed at karaoke clubs – might make more sense. Still, the rendition was excellent, inspiring one overzealous fan to throw her lingerie at Schwartz. "I've never played keyboards with a bra attached to my fingers," he confessed. "But it was fun."

The night's defining moment, however, was fan fave "On the Floor." A fun, Timberlake-worthy jam that rocks your body with an insta-catchy chorus ("Everybody get on the floor / Everybody wanna uh uh uh"), the song sent the crowd into a full-on frenzy, inspiring folks to raise their hands to the roof and do Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" dance. For good reason too: "On the Floor" is hotter than anything Jacko's released since 1992's "In the Closet," and – if it were released as a proper, slickly produced single – it would, along with "Too Hot," undoubtedly hold its own against much of what's played on mainstream radio.