Four Band Night > Three Dog

Busy night last night, which followed a fantastic afternoon beatdown of Notre Dame by my Wolverines.

First up was the Knitting Factory for Shearwater, Bottomless Pit and Magnolia Electic Co.. This was an early show with 7pm doors, so I figured that, like all NYC shows, that meant the first band would go on around 8pm. Err, no. I headed to the Knitting Factory as soon as the Michigan-Notre Dame game ended, and got there around 7:30pm, only to find that Shearwater had started at 7pm sharp. Crap. I managed to only catch about 10 minutes of the band's set. What I heard was great, though.

Shearwater, "Johnny Viola" (from Palo Santo)


Next up was Bottomless Pit, my most anticipated band of the night. Bottomless Pit is the new band from Andy Cohen and Tim Midgett of Silkworm, formed after the tragic death (murder) of Silkworm's drummer, Michael Dahlquist. This is the band's first foray out east, and they were pretty fantastic. Be sure to catch them if they make it to your town.

Bottomless Pit, "The Cardinal Movements" (from their untitled(?) EP)

Silkworm, "Treat the New Guy Right" (from Lifestyle)



Next came headliners Magnolia Electric Co.. I'd never seen them live before, and unfortunately had to cut out after about a 1/2 hour to make it to a friend's birthday party. I definitely like the band, but find that my attention wanders at times when listening to them. Some songs are great, some are just so so. The same seemed to hold true of their live show, but I can't say for sure having only seen about half of their set. I'll definitely try to catch them next time they're in town, and give them a better chance to make an impression.

Magnolia Electric Co., "The Dark Don't Hide It" (from What Comes After the Blues)



After a short foray into Brooklyn for a friend's birthday party, and after several wrong turns wandering around south Williamsburg looking for the J train, I headed back into the city to catch The Whigs at Mercury Lounge. Whereas the band's show on Thursday at Maxwell's in Hoboken was, err, sparsely attended (yet rockin'), the Mercury show was PACKED. They seem to have quite the following among recent University of Georgia graduates, and I had to keep reminding myself that I was standing in the middle of Manhattan rather than a frathouse in Athens. Pretty much the same crowd that forced Jon Auer into the fire hallway back in May. Again, though, the young ladies were quite attractive.

The band? Loud and pummeling as always. And damn good. That said, this was the 5th (!) time I've seen them this year, and I may need to take a break until there's more new material. Or maybe next time I'll just stick with the Maxwell's show and skip Mercury.

The Whigs, "Violet Furs" (from Give Em All a Big Fat Lip)