D.C. locals Monopoli are probably the envy of their musical peers, as they’ve earned a surprising amount of buzz and a loyal group of fans after only a year together. We’d heard a lot of things about the four-piece band; on paper they sound excellent, having been described as everything from polished indie rock a la Spoon to a post-shoegaze act not unlike Coldplay.

So our expectations for their show Friday night at DC9 might have been a wee bit too high. Monopoli is clearly a group that’s still trying to find their voice and style, but they’re writing some interesting tunes along the way. The performance, while charming, was ultimately uneven and little too mellow for what we were anticipating. Singers Alfonso Velez and Rube sang with warm, unassuming vocals, and the songs were often skillful and professional sounding. Their tune “Love” opened with quiet, mournful lyrics and built up to a forlorn climax, with Velez chanting, “Come on, come on, come on/And show me love.” Frankly, we could have used more songs like that; many of the tunes seemed to hint at a more powerful culmination, then instead wandered off into a meandering, subdued sound.

But our assessment of Monopoli might have been affected by the venue. DC9 was packed to the gills, hot, smoky, and the secret cabal of 6’5″ guys whose mission it is to block our view at every show we attend were right in front of us (hence the lack of concert photos for you, but the one above is from the Monopoli web site of a performance in front of the Joan of Arc statue in Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park). Having downloaded a few MP3s from the group’s website and given them some consideration, it’s obvious that this is a band with quite a bit of talent that might just need to work on making their live show more forceful and animated. Their sound is smooth and intricate, and the lyrics more interesting than your standard indie rock pablum. So if you’re looking for a local band with good songwriting and some hooks, we’d suggest buying Monopoli’s five-song EP, sitting back with a glass of wine, and enjoying. But unless they’re playing a venue where old fogies like us can sit down, sip our drinks, and nod along to the music, you might want to forgo their live show for now.

As for the openers: We didn’t catch early act The Overlook (though our friend assured us that we didn’t miss much, saying that the band’s set was “half wannabe Radiohead, half sucky”). However, the second openers, Delegate, a five-piece from Richmond, put on a surprisingly competent and energetic performance. The two lead singers used their interplaying vocals to complement the full, bright rock, and though the set opened with some bland numbers, it grew stronger as the show went on. We’d highly recommend them if they come back to the area.