Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s first appeared in at the V sometime in the spring of ’08. They were in with the new music and had some neat little description for themselves, so I gave them a try. Instantly I was blown away by a whimsical soundscape of awesome. They reminded me of a slightly less timid, more folksy Anathallo, whom I had seen around that time at a B-Sides.
Needless to say, when I heard that they were going to be playing B-Sides this spring, I was ecstatic. When the day finally arrived, I showed up early and further put off studying for a rather important final. They were a little slow to get to the stage, but it was well worth the wait once they walked on.
Not doing my research prior to seeing them, I was rather surprised to see that they were an 8 piece including a separate guy on percussion, a brass player, and a guy who played both lap steel guitar and violin. Many times you see these sorts of additions as gimmicks, but these were extremely talented musicians who tastefully added to the songs with every note both played and omitted. Despite having so many members, it’s not like there was so much going on in the music that it was hard to follow.
Afterwards I got the pleasure of talking to the brass player for a little bit. We discussed the band’s sound and imaginative writing as well as touching on a few of the oddities of the band’s sound. For instance, the suitcase used by the percussion guy. Inside the suitcase is a trigger. The trigger goes to the percussion guy’s drum pad. When triggered, the drum pad samples a recording of the suitcase… A rather round-about way of getting things done, but if it’s more reliable, why not?
This was an extremely strong ending to an excellent year of B-Sides provided by Margeaux. Ryan will definitely have a lot to live up to as next years B-Sides director, but I’ve got faith in him. Anyone who missed the B-Sides this year, especially Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, definitely missed out.
Here's a video of them performing on Conan:
Interesting Side Note: In their contract, the band states that they can be paid in alcohol if money is a problem. Messiah just opted for the cash…
-Alex Brubaker
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