Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s play Bluebird

The rain could not stop the show Saturday night at the Bluebird. A varied mix of hipsters, scene kids and music fans of varying ages filed into the dark and musty venue to see headliners Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s. \nThe band showed up early in its customized black bus – a gutted school bus with nine bunk beds and a “gear box” in the back for their equipment – to mill around in the crowd and catch the shows opening acts Autovaughn and Prizzy Prizzy Please. \nThe band took the stage around midnight and played a set that featured new songs and the biggest hits from their 2005 record “The Dust of Retreat.” The audience sang along to the band’s classics like “Broad Ripple is Burning” and “Vampires in Blue Dresses.” As predicted by guitarist Andy Fry, fans opted to “gesticulate” rather than sing and dance to new songs.\n“Quiet as a Mouse,” played towards the end of the set, elicited the most visual response from the crowd, as the lights shined on everyone singing along. The band also played two songs for an encore.\nAfter the show, Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s managed to cram all eight members of the band and some lucky fans into the tiny backstage lounge. Indianapolis resident Mike Birkey, who said he has seen at least eight Margot shows, passed around a drumstick and a sharpie for all the band to sign. Everyone obliged.\n“Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s is by far the best band in the whole entire earth,” he said as he marveled at the signatures on his drumstick.\nSinger/songwriter/guitaristRichard Edwards was in a playful mood after the show. He said the live music on stage came “from his balls” and that his home schooling background is the reason he has a hard time interacting with people. Edwards went to IU for over three years, and said that if he wasn’t in the band, he’d choose a radically different profession.\n“I would be a sociology professor,” he said.\nAs the night began to wane and the bar began to empty, electric pianist Emily Watkins and violist Erik Kang sat beside the stage and talked about aspirations for their band. Watkins said if success is being satisfied with what you are doing, then she was satisfied, but she did add that the band has much more to aspire to.\n“(Success) is about finding the best we have right now, trying to harness that and put it to the conglomerate song or record,” Watkins said.\nKang added that nothing for the band is set in stone.\n“Our songs, our record deal, nothing is definite,” he said.\nNext stop for Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s is Morrison, Col. for the Monolith Music Festival Sept. 15. For more information about the band, check out www.margotandthenuclearsoandsos.com.