We don’t understand why Benjy Ferree is not a big star. The Three Stars alum plays roosty indie gems and has great stage presence — he’s a funny and engaging and a strong performer. He’s toured with Spoon and The New Pornographers and is signed to Domino Records (Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, etc). And his band is basically a D.C. supergroup, with Laura Harris of The Aquarium, Amy Domingues and Jonah Takagi from Garland of Hours, and Drew Mills from Blood Feather. And the new disc, Leaving the Nest, is great. But he doesn’t seem to get much notice.

And Saturday’s show at the Black Cat seemed to continue that trend. Ferree headlined with locals The Shirks and The Points opening. While we missed The Shirks, The Points drew a big crowd for their sweaty punch-it-out garage punk. But after their set a lot of the crowd dissipated. That’s a shame, because having never seen Ferree before, we were throughly converted by his set.

Photo from Fort Reno this summer by yolamak