As the third stop on her current US tour, Veirs drew in a packed house of fans, ranging all ages, that came with their dates of the night, as it was Valentine’s Day. Before Veirs began her setlist, she first had her band’s violinist, Alex Guy, perform about six songs from her solo project, Led To Sea. Though she could play her violin beautifully and sample her recordings live with only a little difficulty, her quiet arrangements and inhibited vocals failed to inspire. Nelson Kempf from his band, The Old Believers, went on shortly after Guy to play a few of his own as well. As a young crooning, boyishly charming singer-songwriter, Kempf got off to a shaky start from nerves unable to be fought until about three songs into his set. In between his tunes, he at least made light of his stage fright that rooted from the crowd being able to understand everything he said, unlike when he was performing with Veirs in some parts of Europe. Once loosened up, his confidence encouraged him to play and sing the notes he wanted, which definitely made him look a lot less daunted and more comfortable.

One of the most appreciated qualities of this show was that two of the three bandmates had the chance to be recognized as solo artists before they collectively played with Veirs -– it allowed for a more egalitarian atmosphere on stage despite the fact that Veirs was the lady in demand of the evening.

Dressed in a semi-sheer polka dot dress with accessories straight from the ’50s, she stood center front with her guitar wrapped around her neck ready to face the night head on, head high. Veirs opened with one of July Flame’s finest, ‘Carol Kaye’ a lyrically wistful song about the coolness of being, well, Carol Kaye, a famous electric bass guitar player from the ’50s and ’60s. Though the song was missing the soaring echoes vis-à-vis Jim James (of My Morning Jacket fame), Kempf and the drummer killed it as they wailed in unison behind Veirs. A good deal of her repertoire, especially the new material she is out promoting, relies on harmonies from divergent male vocals so their contributions on stage gave her songs that same texture heard in recordings.

After attending college in Minnesota and becoming influenced by feminist punk rock, Veirs turned to a more Americana, old time country style of music that informs her music now. She once said in an interview with NPR that she wants to “mess with that tradition and change it up while drawing from it at the same time.” The singer-songwriter takes your few essential instruments (guitars and banjos, percussion, piano) that shaped the early stages of American music and applies them in a way that works with her quirky folk-pop essence.

If you already have listened to July Flame, her show is akin to a live version of it because she is just as good as she is in the studio. There may have been more consistency than surprises at the show, but who can complain about something as good as that?