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Written by Kaylen Hoffman Monday, 30 October 2006 02:57

The overhead music still plays, the set lists are passed around from Gispert to Dorio and Sullivant, and Gispert cautiously steps to the mike and says, "Uh...we're ready to play now."

Creepy Crawl, St. Louis

The recently relocated Creepy Crawl is still relatively new, as are the Whigs, an Athens, Ga., three-piece that has recently started to make a splash. There's a small group of teenagers standing around, and a few twentysomethings. As I walk into the way-too-clean-to-be Creepy Crawl's new room, the members of the Whigs (Parker Gispert, Julian Dorio, and Hank Sullivant) are eagerly setting up the stage for their set. There are six bands tonight, and the Whigs are playing smack dab in the middle.

As the band is ready to go, they stand at the microphones and assume the positions of rock. The overhead music still plays, the set lists are passed around from Gispert to Dorio and Sullivant, and Gispert cautiously steps to the mike and says, "Uh...we're ready to play now."

And play they did. Dorio is perhaps the craziest drummer that has ever graced the newly constructed Creepy Crawl stage. His drumming style is ridiculously quick, well constructed and tuned to perfection. His hands wildly beat his intricate drum set, which had lights wound around it; his body shakes in sync with Gispert's guitar riffs and his own poundings on the snare drum. With the rambunctious stylings of Sullivant's bass lines and Gispert's guitar solos, Dorio's drumming fits right in and turns the Whigs into an indie-rock supergroup.

After Rolling Stone hailed the Whigs as one of the "Ten Artists to Watch" in 2006, people began to pay attention. Like classic a combination of '70s rock, Jesse Malin on speed, and snappy Pedro the Lion–esque lyrics, the Whigs' sound can be rolled into one rollicking, musical burrito.

In all, the Whigs proved themselves tonight. Their somewhat sophomoric sound was reflected in their performance, but one can only hope that their follow-up release will allow them to become somewhat more mature and able-bodied on stage.