SSLYBY's John Robert Cardwell

Poor Boris Yeltsin's message could have been as plain and simple as the band who still love him: "We want to make you very happy," songwriter and drummer Philip Dickey said last night (April 22) as the Springfield, MO five-piece celebrated its second date of New York City dictatorship to a sold-out crowd at Mercury Lounge.

Clattering, sharp and clean on stage, the Yeltsin five breezed through a set list inclusive of both their records, playing delectable Broom favorites "Pangea" and "Oregon Girl," which hearkened a feeling similar to college radio and campus shows, falling in the teenage-epic vein of Weezer and even Phantom Planet.

And the tunes off the band's recent release, Pershing, were ever more vibrant with live air, as more demanding, loosely-constructed songs such as "You Could Write A Book" and "Dead Right" were made enjoyable by SSLYBY's clean-cut instrumentation and dance antics (featuring cowbell courtesy of bassist David Lizmi of opener Via Audio). SSLYBY surprised the audience at last with an unidentified B-side, an ever-anthemic track reeling in and out of riff grooves, stirring the gratification Dickey initially promised.

We asked: Which band (old or current) do you think would have been banned the quickest by the pre-Yeltsin Communist regime?

Name: Stacy Adimando
Age: 24
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Editor
"Frank Zappa"

Name: Adam Schoeller
Age: 24
Hometown: Springfield, MO
Occupation: General Assistant at Electric Lady Studios
"Panic at the Disco… because nobody should like that band."

Name: Alexa Mazarakis
Age: 27
Hometown: Tuscan, AZ
Occupation: English Teacher
"Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Karen O is too much woman for any Communist leader."

Name: Michelle Garrard
Age: 27
Hometown: Tuscan, AZ
Occupation: Advertising
"The Melvins"

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin / Photo by Beowulf Sheehan

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin / Photo by Beowulf Sheehan

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin / Photo by Beowulf Sheehan