White Rabbits play the weeknight crowd with highly danceable rock

Rock shows in Madison are somewhat notorious for inspiring more head bopping than actual dancing, but Brooklyn-based White Rabbits came to town Tuesday evening with a mind to change all that. Well known for their use of two drummers and heavy, almost bombastic rhythms, the band blew onto stage at the High Noon Saloon and did their best to rile up the crowd.

Continuing their habit of hard touring, White Rabbits played in support of their most recent release, “It’s Frightening,” a more pared down but perhaps more effective effort than their first record, “Fort Nightly.” Combining elements of early ska and punk (they cite one of their influences as The Specials), melodic indie rock, and even calypso, the sextet filled the club with their percussion-heavy sound.

Singer Stephen Patterson sat at center stage in front of a sort of portable saloon-style upright piano. It made for a slightly unusual stage layout, with the two percussionists (Matthew Clark and Jamie Levinson) half obscured behind him, but the design actually worked to keep things from becoming too jumbled. After all, six people on a somewhat small stage with a whole slew of instruments can easily get out of hand.

Clark and Levinson definitely act as the solid core of the group, laying down a foundation of solid, chest-shaking beats. Patterson’s piano playing alternated between being appropriately restrained and full of hard-pounding flourish, and his vocals were emphatic if a little strained at times. Sharing singing duties was guitarist Gregory Roberts, who displayed a slightly more golden tone and excellent, effected playing. Alexander Even and Brian Betancourt rounded out the line-up on guitar and bass, respectively, providing yet more tightly performed layers to the music.

And that’s perhaps the most impressive thing about the band. Six people playing instruments is often a recipe for garish, muddy, confused sounds. White Rabbits, however, somehow manage to keep their arrangements sparse enough to hear what everyone’s doing without losing any of the pop that makes the music fun.

Their set ran through several songs from “It’s Frightening,” including "Rudie Fails" (perhaps an answer to The Clash’s “Rudie Can’t Fail”), plus a few older cuts like the crowd-pleasing “The Plot.” It was, in fact, those kinds of more percussion heavy, up-tempo numbers that elicited the loudest response from the audience. White Rabbits shine the brightest when they launch into these dance-rock pieces, their lack of really complex arrangements showing more clearly when they quiet things down.

That suits just fine, though, as they seem to well understand their niche. And though the crowd was slow to start, people were bopping and honest-to-goodness dancing in large numbers by the time the set came to an end. Cheers and clapping brought the band out for a single encore -- a song called “Fox Hunting” -- that allowed space for some slightly more experimental guitar work in addition to the signature, thumping drums.

Opening acts Canasta and The Subjects provided an interesting progressive lead into the White Rabbits show. Hailing from Chicago, Canasta is another six-piece outfit, but their sound is far more fleshed out and melodic, with violin, piano, and even trombone making appearances. Lead singer Matt Priest has a nearly pitch-perfect voice that’s somewhat reminiscent of They Might Be Giants, and the band’s songs were some of the more lush and intricate of the evening. New York based The Subjects then provided the perfect transition, laying down solid, fun, dirty rock n’ roll with roots in late ’50s pop and even a touch of big band.

— Emily Mills, 77 Square / The Capital Times (Madison, WI), July 1, 2009