Wax Fang @ DC9

I was staring at a boring Monday evening, so I thought I would see what the music scene had to offer last night. While Monday isn't exactly a prime candidate for finding a hot show, it's also pretty hard to be disappointed when your alternative is doing laundry or catching up on a week's worth of The Daily Show on the Tivo.

The Louisville trio Wax Fang was making their first DC appearance last night at DC9. This place is probably my favorite small DC venue, so after reading some good stuff about them online I decided to check them out.

The band did not disappoint. They went through their catalog in about an hour and a half, including three encores, all for the roughly 12 people in the appreciative audience. The set of all original material ended with a Sonic Youth cover -- though I couldn't say what song it was since I've never gotten into that band before. The music is immediately accessible - tight, quick guitar riffs and driving drumlines draw you in quickly, but it's woven with musical virtuosity that gives depth to the tunes. It's the perfect combination of pop hooks and Zappa-esque complexity that makes the songs both catchy and geeky - and I mean that in the best possible musical sense.

I knew almost nothing about them before walking in last night, but I'm converted. Watch these guys.

More pictures from the show.