The Main Drag at The Delancey 1/8/10

If the audience at Delanceys Lounge enjoyed the The Main Drag even half as much as the band appeared to enjoy themselves, the Boston-based collective may be on the way to actual cred. Having already negotiated a pathway to the maintsteam via the use of one of their singles on Rock Band 2, their gigantic choruses and effervescent pop hooks ensured they sounded like a stadium band with a stadium sound albeit playing in a small club.

Initially sporting a green dinosaur fur suit and day-glo glasses, frontman Matt Boch cajoled the crowd into a brief frenzy early on as the cuts from new release “You Are Underwater” were highlights of the set, as the band showcased a grittier sound than on record. However, this proved to be an early peak as Boch’s sensitive indie-boy schtick began to grate and the band seemed at sea without the lush production and instrumentation of their recorded output.