Advertised with tongue-in-cheek flair as a “frotean festival! of the fantastique” and “an evening most thrilling!”, the Victorian Pageant at the Mohawk on the 6th was indeed a unique experience, and a sprightly, fun show even when it didn’t exactly keep with the theme of corsets and humours.

Photos of Moth!Fight! courtesy Super!Alright!!!

The Noise Revival Orchestra were the first band to play the main, outside stage, and what an Orchestra they were. Dressed in full, fanciful regalia, the many-piece ensemble consisted of three percussionists, at least three keys players, multiple vocalists, brass, woodwinds, and more. An Austin band that formed up in the summer of ’06, the Orchestra actually aren’t huge on noise, but on multi-faceted pieces that employ vigorous instrumentation and swiftly changing structures. It’s easy to imagine this group growing out of a music majors’ gab session, and the percussionists alone were exciting to watch. At best some of the songs did sound close to epic, and at worst it sounded like Winn Butler fronting a marching band. Either way, it was a nice change of pace from the usual indie four-piece.

Ume started things inside with their loud, pulsating noise-rock, one of the evening’s bands who didn’t try at all to be Victorian in the least. Outside, a real barbershop quartet (and not a band called Barbershop Quartet) enthused the crowd with a few very old and just plain old tunes, explained some of the history of their craft, and ended their performance with a Beach Boys medley – and were easily one of the best-received groups of the evening. While Moth Fight readied their set with a very intricate sound-check, the Mohawk slowly filled up with people who began to browse some of the exhibits, available on both upper decks. Natrix Natrix set up a spirit photography booth, The Musuem of Artificial and Natural Ephemera had some of their namesake ephemera on display, including a jar of something viscous and disgusting, and Uncommon Objects also had some of their least common wares to show off. Spectators were also asked to gaze into a box to watch a flickering screen (a makeshift “nickelodeon”) and those interested had their countenances explained by the bumps on their head by a phrenology expert/person who just pretended to be an expert.

Inside, Attack Formation also took time to get their sound ready, but before too long the sometimes seven-piece band were out of the gates and rocking it up. Although the guitar onslaught and big riffs both a little bruised and brash recall bits of loud indie forebears like Archers of Loaf, softer touches like stray trumpet bursts and the female background vocals are what made them difficult to stop watching. Definitely recommended.

Even though the band Numbers officially closed the show, everything – from the out-there exhibitions to the general mood of the evening – belonged to Moth Fight, whose frenetic pop-psychedelia was best suited to the night’s peculiar theme. A five-piece group where almost every member plays at least three instruments, Moth Fight performed every one of their songs, and the care and craft of their set did not go unappreciated by the crowd. Even when their 3-D light show didn’t go as well as expected, the impressive rhythm section, grab-bag of instruments like singing saw, violin, and harpsichord (not to mention the sugary melodies) kept spirits high.

Given the night so far, recent Kill Rock Stars signees Numbers were something of a disappointment, as the trio was about as far from the period-piece mishmash of Moth Fight as could be. Vocalist and drummer Indra Dunis’ voice was almost drowned out by guitar noise, not to mention the aural battery done by Eric Landmark and his two synthesizers. While this might sound like a recipe for Loveless-era goodness, it had more in common with pop plebeians Mates of State than anything else.

Unlike Emo’s, a great venue where one still gets the feeling that they've shown up to a party uninvited (see: the bathrooms, surly bar staff), The Mohawk really made an attempt to make a magical evening out of Saturday night, made manifest in the array of things to see, bands to hear, and those little touches that make the venue a warm, exciting place to spend part of your weekend. Here’s to many more “frotean festivals of the fantastique” in the near future.