For a show featuring a band called the Horrors, the crowd at the Bowery Ballroom on March 10 was surprisingly not Goth. In fact, you'd probably barely be able to distinguish it from the crowd at the Matt and Kim show the night before.

When the Films came on at 9 PM, there were about 50 people in the 550-capacity space. The crowd was not thrilled to be there, but the Films (who just got back to the States from playing regularly for crowds of several thousand in Europe) managed to get the place moderately riled up with screeching guitars, driving drums, sweat-drenched shaggy hair and a lot of bouncing around the stage. The Films are four skinny dudes from South Carolina who sling rockers in the tradition of Oasis, the Strokes, and the Cribs--which might explain why they are relatively huge in Europe. Until the lead singer said "y'all" and announced the band's hometown, I can't imagine that anybody had any doubts he was British.

So by the time the Films left the stage, heads were bobbing violently and a few crazies were even dancing around. That all came to an abrupt halt when Favourite Sons went on at 10. The rough-around-the-edges, high-energy show gave way to a polished, refined, overly reserved bout of crooning and shuffling aimlessly around the stage--think Frank Sinatra backed by a nondescript rock band. The crowd dutifully followed suit: exit head bobbing, enter blank, unamused stares. The songs either gradually built up to a climax or alternated quiet crooned verses with loud, distorted choruses, which at least garnered some courtesy applause from the now 300-strong audience. "It's a war inside of me," sang the sportcoat- and scarf-clad vocalist......