Margot & the Nuclear So and So's dazzle Buskirk crowd

Indianapolis band Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s injected some much-needed life into IU’s dead week Wednesday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. The concert began with performances by The Bears of Blue River  from Chicago and Everything, Now! from Indianapolis. Both bands played 30-minute sets each and were well-received by the audience.
   
By the time the theater went black, the blue stage lights faded on and signaled the beginning of the headlining band’s set.

“Thank you very much for coming out during finals week,” said Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s frontman Richard Edwards, who was clad in a blue denim jacket. Though Edwards was off by one week, the audience clapped and yelled in response anyway.  

The band played a 90-minute set including fan favorites “Quiet as a Mouse,” “Hello Vagina” and “My Baby (Shoots Her Mouth Off).” Through most of the performance, an infant, wearing large protective headphones and wiggling with the music in its parent’s arms, could be seen just offstage near the curtains.

Though recent lineup changes have led to what has been described as a solo project, Edwards was joined on stage for the majority of the songs by a five-member band.  

Occasionally, the band would bow out and allow for more intimate acoustic songs, including “Broadripple is Burning,” to be played by Edwards and multi-instrumentalist Erik Kang.

During the performance, the group jokingly took aim at the pop star Ke$ha. Edwards noted how the “TiK ToK” singer’s best-selling album “Animal” shares its title with the title of Margot’s last album.  
“We each got $70,000 for the use of that name,” he said. “It’s how I bought this jean jacket.”

After finishing the set, the band was coaxed back on stage for a three-song encore.  

Several minutes of cheering prompted Kang to return, only to mockingly grab a bottle of whiskey and leave again. Various band members occasionally popped their heads out from behind the curtains and laughed at the crowd’s growing enthusiasm.  

Eventually, Kang returned to the stage again and said, “Sorry, that was rude of me; to get everyone’s hopes up just to grab the bottle of whiskey we left on stage. How about we make it up to you and play one or two more songs?”

The rest of the band joined Kang and made good on his promise.  

Audience member Christopher Reynolds said he enjoyed the concert.

“I think the lineup changes worked out,” he said. “It was good.”

Ivy Tech graduate Mel Dotson agreed.

“I thought they were very personal, and I liked how they really talked to the crowd,” she said. “They were even better in concert than on CD.”