XX Merge night 3 at Cat's Cradle: The Essex Green and Spent

Night three of XX Merge kicked off with the night's emcee, Jon Wurster of Superchunk. He told the crowd that the "XX" sign was left over from Merge's brief foray into the world of adult cable programming. He said his favorite show was "Hot Girls in Chuck Taylors." On that note, he introduced The Essex Green.

The band played a 10-song set of infectious pop tunes including "Penny & Jack" and "Snake in the Grass." The band relied heavily on tunes from their last album, 2006's Cannibal Sea. Check out the set list below and help out with the missing songs if you can.

The Essex Green set list:
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Don't Know Why (You Stay)
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Penny & Jack
Mrs. Bean
By the Sea
Rue de Lis
The Late Great Cassiopia
Snakes in the Grass
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Next up, was New Jersey band Spent, who hadn't played together since 1997 (except for one Brooklyn show last month). The band's tight set of spacey pop tunes thrilled the crowd. One particularly nice song was the upbeat "Good Luck Line" from the 1996 album A Seat Beneath the Chairs. The band were joined by Gary Olson on trumpet to play on the song he originally played on from the same album.

The band played a tight set for a group who who hadn't played together in 12 years. Hopefully it won't be another 12 before they play again.

Check out photos of The Essex Green and Spent below. Our next post about night three will follow shortly.

[all photos by Kevin Norris]

The Essex Green







Spent