Earlimart at Joe's Pub

About halfway through Tuesday night's Earlimart show at the intimate Joe's Pub I had an epiphany: I trick myself into thinking that I like this LA-based band more than I actually do. Sure, they've written some pretty melodies, and some rockers with decent hooks—The Movies, We Drink on the Job, Unintentional Tape Manipulation, The Hidden Track—so their stuff does get stuck in my head. But then when I actually sit down and listen to their music, it's all seems very elusive, and even their best songs are really more like half songs, either all hook, or all prettiness.

Anyway, personal revelations aside, the core Earlimart band was joined on this night by an underutilized string quartet, playing 14 songs—mostly from their new CD, Mentor Tormentor—in a charming and energetic, though ultimately uninspiring, hour-long set. Here's the mostly complete set list (little help on the first song, anyone?):
1. ?
2. Answers and Questions
3. Nevermind the Phonecalls
4. Heaven Adores You
5. Happy Alone
6. Gonna Break Into Your Heart
7. 700 > 100
8. Everybody Knows Everybody
9. Don't Think About Me
10. Bloody Nose
11. The Hidden Track
12. Lazy Feet 23
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13. We Drink on the Job
14. Cold, Cold Heaven

We arrived about ten minutes before the doors opened at 9:00, and there was hardly any line. I had employed the usual Joe's Pub reserve-a-table strategy (don't worry about the posted drink/food minimum), and we had great seats.