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Last week I sojourned to Charlotte, NC, to see Craig Finn and, as a bonus, The Mountain Goats and Bully. The concert was at a venue in the NoDa area called the Neighborhood Theater, which was a pretty great place for a show. Big, open bar area where you could hear the band, and a weirdly steep show floor that made it easy to see from pretty much anywhere. It was the first show of the tour, so there were a few rough moments, but it was a large, friendly crowd.

Bully started the night with a solo show, and Alicia Bognanno was really fun and charming, if a little nervous. She played through a quick seven song set on an electric strat, with “Change Your Mind,” “All I Do” and a cover of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” as the highlights. She was nervous, but shouldn’t have been, as the crowd really dug her vibe and was all-in on her.

Next up was the guy I came to see, Craig Finn. I’d not previously seen him solo, but I knew his on-stage solo vibe was considerably different than as the frontman for The Hold Steady, and that was what I got. It was a shorter set than I would have liked, only about seven songs, with a couple of them new, but he did “It’s Never Been a Fair Fight,” “Jessamine” and, best of all, “The Amarillo Kid” from the new album. He told a few fun stories between songs and had a nice banter with the audience, playing a beautiful nylon-string acoustic (a gift from bandmate Steve Selvidge!) for most of the set. Some of the folks in the Unified Scene that I met in Portland and Las Vegas were there, which was great to see.

Lastly was The Mountain Goats. I like the Goats, but I wouldn’t say that I’m the biggest fan. They performed a brisk, punchy duo set at about 90 minutes, playing a variety of their catalog ranging from “Jenny III” to fan favorites like “No Children,” “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton” and finishing with “This Year.” John Darnielle sounded great and the crowd energy was enthusiastic, which both Goats seemed to appreciate. Some audience talkers, which is a pet peeve of mine.

Great show, great time. My kind of vibe. Unfortunate night to be doing dry January, but it’s probably for the best. My sister got to meet Craig Finn in the hallway, but I just missed him. I did get to say hey and “nice set” to Alicia, so the night wasn’t a total loss for brushes with greatness.