Yesterday at NX35: Fergus and Geronimo at Hailey's

Band: Fergus & Geronimo
Venue: Hailey's Club
Time: 10:50 p.m.

Fergus & Geronimo had plenty working against its set last night at Night Two of NX35--not the least of which was a timeslot filled with numerous great acts playing at the same time.

As such, its show at Hailey's was nowhere near packed. But, thankfully, the club's four-band bill wasn't a ghost town bust.

Playing third to a lot of eyes and ears who gathered in the main room just in time for the band's set, Fergus & Geronimo banged out its set, and the audience sounded and acted quite appreciative of the Denton four-piece. People didn't walk out of the room raving about what they saw necessarily, but they seemed to enjoy what they heard.

Despite having relatively short songs, the band seemed to rush through its sparse 25-minute set. Still, its material seemed to fit well with a twitchy slant, given the near-garage sound with some echoes of pre-Beatles rock. At the core, these were simple, non-abrasive love songs. And though the band could have cashed in all of its chips and just let everything rip, its guitars, organ and drums were played with reserve and restraint. Until the second-to-last song, at least, which seemed to sound like the Marked Men's poppier material.

Balancing out a show that featured an impressive opening set by Final Club and disappointing, one-note set by Pure Ecstasy, Fergus & Geronimo fell in between. The band didn't blow a great opportunity, but there was a feeling that there could have been more to its display.