"The knowledge of future clarity makes my voice tremble with greater dignity," crooned Jens Lekman, launching into an hour-long set last night highlighting the best in Swedish twee. It's more than a sound: preciousness is a lifestyle. Consider that every member of the band was wearing keys. As in, a single key, tied on a string and hung around the neck, as if the group's den-mother had ensured that they're all able to make their way home after a night of rocking. Adorable!

Lekman himself—who could be the older, slighter, more upbeat brother of Billy Corgan—puts on a rather unapologetic show for a sound that's so pat. His ensemble surely draws comparisons to the reigning lords of twee, Belle & Sebastian, but at the live show, those comparisons fall away. Lekman's band doesn't strive to re-create the orchestral feel of the album, whereas at (say) a B&S show, nearly every instrument on the album is represented live.

The Mohawk outdoor patio was easily the happiest place on Earth when Lekman launched into "The Opposite of Hallelujah," a sweet and wordy ode to familial estrangement—specifically the awkward responsibility older siblings feel to pass on whatever bit of wisdom they've received to their younger siblings. (Before the urge to criticize takes over.) The lyrics, which couldn't be wordier or more aggressively earnest, distinguish Lekman's act. In fact, his closest lyrical cousin might be The Fall's Mark E. Smith—whose wordy ironic punk schtick was recently adopted by Art Brut. Perhaps it's the stage's close quarters or the stripped-down presentation that performance after performance from one side of town to the other calls for, but something about Lekman's show rocked in an unexpected way. There were the violin and viola, which sound like pop-orchestral flourishes in recordings—live, though, they sounded like a guitar solo over the bridge. The drums were live, loud, and synchopated. Mellower performances benefit when the tempo rises and the drums get frisky at the live shows—even the most twee routine in rock knows this score.

It seemed last night as though more than a few fans saw a good show coming. The line out the door was impressive, and the half-hour wait to enter (even for folks with credentials) was only salvaged by the sounds of Bon Iver, a fantastic and forceful singer/songwriter who performed earlier.