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Margot & The Nuclear So and So's
So a month or so ago (I really don't recall, sometime in July) I went down to the Terrace (the UW one, not the upscale Monona version) and saw this band I had never heard of before, Margot & The Nuclear So and So's. Unfortuently, the opening band took so long to get on stage (rumor was they refused to play with their lead singer) that M&NSS was only able to play less than a half hour. I must say though, it was a great thirty minutes.
Then this past Friday they came back to Madison! This time at the Annex. While that meant I had to pay to see them this time, it also meant a longer show. Was their first show a fluke? No way.
I missed the opening opening band, and I forget who was the opening band (though they did a cool cover of Ben Folds Five's Army), but it was $8 well spent (I spent more on drinks, way more). Margot & The Nuclear So and So's impressed me yet again. With 8 members (trumpet, cello, bass, keyboards, drummer, percussionist, and two guitar players), they better! Their extremely enthusiastic percussionist was just as wired this time (yes, I spelled that right). Though this time he didn't almost maim someone by throwing a giant piece of metal over the edge of the stage..., and we were treated to a nice mini (literally) harmonica solo.
After listening to them this time I was sold and had to pick up their CD on the way out: The Dust of Retreat. It was only $10 (you can get it for only $9 on Amazon!) and is worth every damn cent. I don't think it's quite as good as they are live, but still damn good. When you see them live it's almost like they turn it up a notch, turn up the volume on the guitars, hit their cords all the shaper, whatever. Listen to the awesome Quiet as a Mouse and take that same feeling to the rest of the songs. Though that really shouldn't diminish how great the rest of the album really is.
Protip: Despite Homer's insistence, there is no 'u' sound between the 'c' and 'l' in "nuclear".
So in short, if Margot & The Nuclear So and So's come your way be sure to check them out. And in any case, be sure to pick up their CD. It doesn't beat my favorite CD in recent months -- Silversun Pickup's Caravan still has that crown -- but it at least got me to take Caravan out of my CD player, so that's saying something.