The Extra Lens, John Vanderslice & Dan Mangan played Mercury Lounge (CMJ pics)

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Rachel Kowal

Frank Bruno & John Darnielle (the Extra Lens)

By the time I got to the Extra Lens show at the Mercury Lounge, I had missed John Vaderslice (luckily NYC Taper taped it) and the room was so packed that I had to stand a few inches away from the door. The view may have been terrible, but the sound was anything but. Finally. After the show at The Woods, it was a nice change of pace to see a band who was actually completely comfortable and confident with performing. I must confess I never got into the Mountain Goats (sorry to offend), but I was taken by the Extra Lens and in particular, by John Darnielle. What a charming man. I'm pretty sure he could have instructed the room to do calisthenics, and they would have obliged him. Darnielle and Bruno were so personable between songs. To the delight of the crowd, Darnielle stepped off stage and marched all the way to the back of the room to sing for their pseudo-encore. It seemed kind of odd that they were playing in such a small space, but I guess those Merge bands just likes to keep things intimate, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

John Vanderslice's only other CMJ show was our Friday day party at Public Assembly. The Extra Lens only also played a KEXP session. More pictures from Mercury Lounge, where Dan Mangan who also played our loft party also played, below...