The Joy Formidable came to town Friday night as the headliners for the X103 Not So Silent Night concert at the Vogue. The trio, as expected, was great. But I suspect the radio station’s desire to funnel concertgoers into its after party next door robbed true fans of the full power of the band.

Arriving in Indy for only the second time — how I missed them the first time is beyond me — and wrapping up a year in which they released one of the best albums, the band was positioned well to close out the concert season with a bang. Not only was it one of the final big shows of the year here in Indy, it was also the Joy Formidable’s last show of 2011. The band certainly did its part. Opener A Heavy Abacus set the tone immediately, lead singer/guitarist/dynamo frontwoman Ritzy Bryan pinballing all over the stage, her guitar pounding, drummer Matt Thomas pummeling his drums. The performance hit its pace with the third song, Austere, the crowd fully into the show by that point. A fiery version of Cradle and set closer Whirring, with its crazy, cathartic coda brought the concert to its pinnacle. But just like that it was over, which is why I think X103 had a hand in pulling the plug.

I’ve read enough about the Joy Formidable to know that the band is capable of regularly unleashing epic performances. For this set to end after 45 minutes with no encore was nonsense. No Everchanging Spectrum? No Greatest Light? Sorry, but I don’t buy that the band was ready to go. The trio put everything they had into their performance; I doubt they were allowed the time to deliver the full set.

Were you there? What’s your take on the show?