Crooked Fingers at Little Brothers

I saw Crooked Fingers play Little Brothers twice.

The first time was forgettable.

Eric Bachman played alone, opening for Superchunk. His dirge of a voice was barely audible over the talkative crowd.

What made his set even more forgettable was the fact that an unknown ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead also played on the bill. It was Trail of Dead's first gig with Superchunk since joining Merge. The lead singer at some point leaped into the crowd and screamed into the face of the biggest guy in the crowd.

(That happened to me once at Stache's when the front man for Six Finger Satellite screamed into my face while opening for Brainiac. I was not the biggest guy in the venue. But I digress.)

Superchunk played well.

Then, I saw Crooked Fingers in a nearly-empty Little Brothers on a cold, winter evening.

Crooked Fingers, now a three-piece, played their first three songs on the floor with no amplification. The third song was announced as a Prince song. Someone gave a sarcastic cheer.

Bachman gruffly replied, "Seriously, it's a good song." Silence.

They played "When U Were Mine". It was maybe the most beautiful thing I've ever heard.

The rest of the set was fine. My friend Brad yelled for a few Archers of Loaf songs to no avail.