Elf Power recently headlined a night of the Team Clermont Ball at the 40 Watt in Athens and played two sets. The first consisted of their own material and the second was all covers, including eyebrow raising fare like “Ghostbusters” (actually a lot of fun) and that annoying theme song from The Greatest American Hero. I finally got a chance to listen to the whole show, generously made available by Sloan Simpson at his great Southern Shelter blog.

I jumped on the covers set first because I was very curious to hear the band’s versions of those songs. Novelty tunes aside, Elf Power has excellent taste. They play loose and likable versions of The Beatles, VU, Dylan, Stooges, Sabbath, Neil Young, and Bowie among others. Their take on My Bloody Valentine’s “When You Sleep” is especially good. Nothing’s Going To Happen, their ‘02 covers album, is also worth checking out if you can’t get enough of them playing other people’s songs.

The first set is pretty cool too. They give a nice sampling of their catalog, with a song or two from each of their albums except for their debut, Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs. (That’s the only one I haven’t heard, incidentally. I’m still hoping for a reissue that lands on eMusic some day.) The band sounds like they’re having a fine time as they run through some of their best material. “The Separating Fault” and “Skeleton” are particularly strong. But the real standout for me is the jangly, slightly faster version of “All the World Is Waiting” from their most recent album, Back to the Web. It loses most of its glam swagger but the scrappy, stripped down translation calls attention to just how good a song it is.

Elf Power has played several times in Atlanta or Athens in the last few months, but I haven’t caught any of their shows. I hope to get another chance to, not only because I want to see them again, but also so I can get my hands on a copy of their tour only rarities collection, Treasures From the Trash Heap. I must have that album!