When Devendra Banhart walked onstage, I didn't even recognize him.Once known more for his bizarre dress and on stage antics, the former king of freak-folk looked downright respectable as he took the microphone- beardless, short haired, and wearing only a black shirt and jeans.
It took only one warbled note, however, to connect that wholly unique voice to the face.
He's currently touring with the Grogs, his backing band with which he's been playing for several years. It's comprised of several talented musicians- many of them leaders of their own bands, as well as Rodrgio Amarante of Little Joy, and whole menagerie of other side projects.
The set was varied and well put-together. They started with a few tracks from 'What Will Be,' Banhart's first major label album and probably his most conventional.
After a bit, the Grogs headed off and Banhart played a bunch of his older songs, including the brilliantly melancholy 'A Sight to Behold' and everyone's favourite slightly unhinged children's song, 'Little Yellow Spider.'
He talked briefly of Alex Chilton's death the previous day, saying he had too much respect for the man to attempt a Big Star cover.
The rest of the show was a bit of a mixed bag.
Banhart is an excellent showman, and he is eminently watchable, able to sell even the silliest of lyrics and endow his sometimes childish impulses with a sense of gravity.
The Grogs are a great backing band, and the interplay between the musicians was fascinating, as they took a lot of requests, and often seemed to be watching each other for chord changes and cues.
But when it came time for each of them, in term, to perform one of their own songs, the energy faltered a bit, with only Amarante's rendition of Little Joy's 'Shoulder to Shoulder' really winning the crowd over.
There was a lot of filler towards the end, and though the set all but concluded with the epic, sabbath-inspired 'Seahorse,' many of the songs before and after came and went with nary an impact.
That said, the show was always fun, the music was never bad, if not compelling, and there was no one in the crowd who was not hanging on every word and every lyric Banhart uttered.
I would have liked to have seen him at the peak of his weirdness, but I have nothing but good things to say about this new, straightforward version.
Unfortunately, Devendra Banhart was not dressed like this.