May Day, 2010, NY’s The Dig – a band we’ve been following for a few years now – played to a sold out Mercury Lounge alongside the UK’s The Joy Formidable on the second day of their mini-tour. These guys’ infectious grooves on “You’re Already Gone” and “Two Sisters in Love” pumped up the packed Lounge, while “Look Inside” and “Sick Sad Morning” blended heartfelt verses with romantic melodies and pounding bass lines. Impassioned vocals floated over ringing guitars and syncopated backbeats on “Penitentiary”; and “He’s a Woman” undulated with instrumental feedback and distortion, championing The Dig’s psychedelic inspirations spiced with alternative rock flavor. “She’s Going to Kill That Boy” shook with a haunting guitar and trippy keyboard reverb and erupted into a head-banging refrain. Closer, “I Just Wanna Talk to You,” interspersed with crowd clap-along segments, oozed with bluesy seduction and a classic rock ‘n roll spirit. On June 5, The Dig will return to Mercury Lounge to celebrate the release of “Electric Toys” due out officially on June 8. –Meijin Bruttomesso