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By the time The Oyster Band had worked its way through this past summer’s Folk Festival, it looked as though they had picked up more fans than any other act on the bill.

That may be so, but after witnessing the quintet at Dinwoodie Lounge on the U of A campus Thursday night, it is apparent many of those fans live on a calendar that excludes entertainment after Halloween.

A meagre crowd of 180 turned out and were treated to a fine evening’s worth of music that also included the Edmonton debut of Michelle Shocked.

The folk/rockers wasted little time in revving up their guitars, squeeze boxes and fiddles that had half the crowd heading for the lip of the stage in short order.

The Oysters don’t really pace themselves as much as they slip into high gear right off the top, and then, once in a while over the course of a set, they’ll pull in the reins and cool out for a tune.

No one style worked better than another nor did the contemporary songs outshine the traditional material.

Those who did show lapped up everything the band dished out, and by the first act’s end most of the crowd was on the dance floor kickin’ up their heels.

And the group’s choice of material, when drawing on other sources, can’t be faulted as they pulled off rockers written by the likes of Billy Bragg and Nick Lowe.

If there is one major drawback to the band it lies with its drummer, whose extremely regimented style tends to wear thin and become monotonous, especially after the band has played a number of uptempo songs in succession.

In any case, this band deserved a bigger crowd, while Michelle Shocked could have used a smaller, more intimate hall for her segment of the show.

The Texas songwriter who now lives in London, England, didn’t have any surprises for those who have heard her [The] Texas Campfire [Tapes] album.

Vignettes strung together in a talking blues style with a large dose of black humor make Shocked one of the new songwriters to watch out for in the next year.