All photos by Laura Ciekot

J. Tillman has been busy. He joined indie-folk darlings Fleet Foxes last summer, touring in support of their Sun Giant EP. But Tillman also continued his solo output, releasing his fifth solo album, the hauntingly beautiful Vacilando Territory Blues earlier this year, and is already back with more – Year in the Kingdom is slated to be released on September 22.

Tillman brought his revival to San Francisco last night, with support from Oakland duo The Moore Brothers and solo act Pearly Gate Music (who doubled on bass for Tillman).

Earlier this week, Tillman took a break from the road to talk to us about touring, beards, the new album and King Tuff (among other things).

J. Tillman

Tillman’s records are renowned for being skeletal, languid affairs. Those expecting the same from his live show were in for a surprise on Sunday night. Backed by a four-piece band, Tillman performed with far more intensity and emotional range than expected.

Spinning like a dervish, slamming tambourines into cymbals and shaking like a Pentecostal preacher, it was difficult to remember that this was the same musician whose sepia-twinged sound is most often compared to the wounded beauty of Great Lake Swimmers, Nick Drake and Iron & Wine.

The impassioned performance was all the stranger given the song choices. Tillman didn’t play many new songs or even radically re-work old songs for the full band. Instead, each song seemed more an organic extension of the original thought than deliberate re-arrangement.

In case anyone was somehow disappointed by the surprisingly passionate performance, Tillman returned to the stage alone with an acoustic guitar for a two-song encore. Taking choices from the audience, he played through “Casualties” and “James Blues” before a silent crowd with all the earnest vulnerability that we’ve come to expect.

The Moore Brothers

The Moore Brothers are an acoustic duo from Oakland. Their acoustic guitar and two-part harmony approach couldn’t help but draw comparisons to Simon & Garfunkel (filtered through Joe Pernice’s breathy vocals). The set was somewhat uneven with joke songs leading into ballads into screamers with only their quirky banter as segues.

The brothers’ tight harmonies and clever songwriting were enjoyable, but their set ran long and meandered.

Pearly Gate Music:

Serving as the utility player for the evening, Pearly Gate Music’s solo member served as both opening act and bassist for the headliner. Playing on a nylon guitar run through some heavy reverb, his opening set consisted of originals as well as a Pavement cover for good measure.

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