Tom Hamilton’s putting his energies into the wrong band. Brothers Past is good at what they do, and I’m sure it’s more lucrative. But I can’t say that BP’s music has ever ensnared me quite like his American Babies side project did at the Knitting Factory last night. Given a proper upbringing, the Babies can grow into Monsters.

Hamilton’s slimmed-down version of American Babies — a powerful quartet featuring brother Jim Hamilton on bass, Sir Joe Russo on drums and Scott Metzger on guitar — expertly showcases his incredible songbook. I don’t mean to trip on over-enthusiasm here, but this show for me catapulted Hamilton onto the list of great young songwriters. His originals strike the perfect lyrical and musical balance between wide commercial appeal and misunderstood critical acclaim.

Capitalistic endeavors will likely lead him to pursue success for his more well-known band, but watching this semi-supergroup made me wish he’d put the Brothers in the Past and concentrate on bringing up the Babies.

• Read on for the rest of the review and more photos of the show
• And click here to check out American Babies on MySpace

That’s not to take anything away from Brothers Past: This is strictly about preference. I’m all for the high-energy, jamtronic full throttle that band displays night in and night out, but I’d sooner plunk my money down for a song-driven set with top-notch musicianship and three-part harmonies (well, hey, Russo can sing!) that alternates effortlessly from downcast to downright cheery. And when you can trot out a cache of great material supported by world-class musicians that genuinely dig playing with each other, generating a consistent fanbase is surely well within reach.

The bio information on Hamilton’s website mentions his similarities on wistful tunes to a young Gram Parsons or a more sober Ryan Adams. I’d love to contradict that statement, but whoever wrote it pretty much nailed it on the head (I’ll even piggyback with a hint of the Man in Black). And given the success of those musicians, I hope he takes the comparison to heart and keeps the Babies on board.

Let’s take a look at a couple more photos for the night — here’s Metzger sporting his serious look, as opposed to his patented “I’m on a rollercoaster” solo face:

And here’s another hazy shot of the American Babies:

The calendar’s clean, and I’m not sure the Babies have any gigs off the public radar, but if Hamilton brings this band to town, you know what to do…