The Magnolia Electric Co rolled through the upper altitudes last night, taking the stage at Denver�s Larimer Lounge on the second night of their tour of under-appreciated time zones. The Magnolia Party Posse, so dubbed by strangely intense touring mates Ladyhawk, followed his Great Midwestern-ness, Jason Molina, around a series of tunes from the upcoming Fading Trails and Nashville Moon albums.

Several years ago I had to pillow talk my friends into spinning Didn�t It Rain, but Molina�s making things much easier these days, coating his gloom �n� doom in sweet tea and tartar sauce. The band, which now includes a full-time piano man, were still finding the reins, fumbling through the song choices, but they choogled downhill whenever Molina�s steely tenor warbled or guitarist Jason Groth gyrated jus� a lil� bit. A cover of the Classics IV, um, classic �Spooky� mingled with �I�ve Been Riding with the Ghost� and amped takes on �Hammer Down� and �Just Be Simple� out-ripped their recorded kin. The formerly hostile Molina, ending songs with more than a few �thank you kindly��s, has officially moved into the Neil Young Persona Assimilation Phase III � his live show offers few surprises but he makes hay with plenty of gritty, inspired tunes. Walk on.

Playing in a traveling band: Hit the link for the remaining MEC dates. Guitarist Groth is blogging about the gigs hereabouts. Fading Trails will drop September 12 on Secretly Canadian, while Molina�s solo joint, the decidedly autumnal Let Me Go Let Me Go Let Me Go, hits shelves August 22.