Fruit Bats bring some bite to the Jackpot

​”Lawrence is good,” ruminated Eric Johnson at the mic stand.

He sounded surprised. “I like this town,” he said.

Larryville can be quite charming when it wants to be; and last night, the romper-clad college kids were drunk, dancing, and loving on Johnson’s band — indie-folk pioneers Fruit Bats — hard. Johnson must have been digging Jackpot last night, too, where the band rolled out a set of songs for the first time in the Kansas City area; like many good first dates, it turned out to be a late night.