Last week was a busy one for The Billiken Club. The night of Thursday, Sept. 11 brought Liam Finn and The Veils to the venue, while Saturday, Sept. 13, brought Centro-Matic and Ohtis. Last Friday night, however, organizers pulled out the big guns.

The Riverfront Times listed Friday night’s lineup of local band The Incurables, Baltimore based duo Wye Oak and headliner James Jackson Toth as show of the week, singling out Toth as a “critics’ pick” artist. All three acts were expected to be a must see.

In the opinion of this reviewer, only two-thirds of the show fulfilled expectations.

Although the crowd at The Billiken Club was small Friday night, those who were in attendance were in for a treat with the first two bands.

The Incurables, who opened the night, performed songs from their Songs For a Blackout, and had a sound similar to that of Oasis or the Goo Goo Dolls. The band seemed completely comfortable and sincere on stage, receiving a decent audience response for their trouble.

The second act, Wye Oak, did not disappoint.

Although only a two-person act, Wye Oak had a strong sound, particularly in terms of singer Jenn Wasner’s vocals. Although one or two slower songs seemed to drag on just a bit longer than the audience’s attention span, the songs were catchy with easy going melodies.

The audience, which had built up a bit since the opening of the show, rewarded the duo with a warm response.

After Wye Oak, things went slightly downhill.

The already small crowd thinned out even more, leaving Toth to begin playing his set to a nearly empty room. Toth’s performance gave little reason for the few remaining audience members to stay. His sound was nothing special, and his on stage persona failed to make a lasting impression, aside from- or perhaps because of- the fact that he began his act performing by wearing sunglasses on stage. At best, his performance could be described as lukewarm, with a few bright spots that couldn’t redeem the set.

Despite the disappointment of Toth’s performance, the rest of the show was definitely worthwhile. The Billiken Club coordinators continue to make good selections, as evidenced by the performances of The Incurables and Wye Oak.

The Billiken Club deserves the continued patronage of the student body, and, hopefully, will build up a greater base of fans by continuing to book a steady stream of exciting, up-and-coming talent.