It Happened Last Night

White Rabbits, Peter, Bjorn, and John Elate Downtown Fans

NEW YORK: By offering a musical smorgasbord, Mercury Lounge's patrons go wild for rock circus of sorts.

Kicking off a concert bill to die for, Brooklyn six-piece White Rabbits took the stage last night at New York City's Mercury Lounge and dove into a set of nine near flawless tunes. Layering concertgoers with a thick coating of hazy vaudeville piano jangles, airy lead guitars, and genre-negotiating drum patterns, White Rabbits revealed a range of influences via the bouncing, bluesy "Empty Nest" and the pulsating post-punk ditty "Kids on My Shoulders."

Born Ruffians prefaced the latest export reaching for indie rock dominaton, Peter, Bjorn, and John, with a set showcasing tight-knit freak-outs, quick-shot vocals, and loud-soft dynamics. But most were there to see Swedish trio PB&J, who dapperly dove into "Young Folks" and answered fans' nagging question: Yes, Peter can whistle live. Complete with duet partner and ex-Concrete Victoria Bergsman, frontman Peter Moren puckered up and fluted into the mic as the crowd exchanged looks of disbelief. The Scandinavian darlings finally wrapped their buzzed-about Stateside showing with a stripped-down version of "Amsterdam" and a raucous, lengthy rendition of "Against the Wall." WILLIAM GOODMAN / PHOTOS BY LEAH MORGAN

>> Listen to Peter, Bjorn, and John on Napster

We asked: If you owned a white rabbit as a pet, what would you name it? COMMENT

Name: Alexis Schimberg
Age: 26
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Fashion
"Pumpernickel"

Name: Jeff Duarte
Age: 22
Hometown: Queens, NY
Occupation: Unemployed
"Chauncey"

Name: Nick Martin
Age: 21
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Occupation: Student
"Francis"

Name: Joyce Rutterkaye
Age: 43
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Editor
"Jackson"

Name: Ann Madsen
Age: 35
Hometown:Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Student
"Bunny"

Name: Lindsey Nelson
Age: 21
Hometown: Southside, AL
Occupation: Student
"Tim"

Name: Jamie Scott
Age: 29
Hometown:Basingstoke, England
Occupation: Visual effects creator
"Fluffy"

Name: Rohanie Singh
Age: 29
Hometown: Niceville, FL
Occupation: Student
"Baxter"

White Rabbits guitarist Alex Even adds twinkling high notes to the mix

White Rabbits' Steve Patterson delivering a boozy piano riff

White Rabbits cook up a thick rocker

Swedes Peter, Bjorn, and John rock out

Victoria Bergsman dueting on "Young Folks"

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