Near the middle of his set, A. A. Bondy thanked a tightly packed crowd for putting up with extended breaks between songs. I thought, “Wait, why wouldn’t we put up with it?” As did many other people, who talked back toward the stage praising Bondy, and rightfully so. His studio work is soulful and mesmerizing, but live, everything is taken to a new level, especially with the intimacy of a venue like the Rock & Roll Hotel.

But let’s backtrack for a moment, to talk about opener, Gold Leaves. They’re a grungy-looking band with scraggly beards and hoodies, but their music is extremely sunny and poppy. They connected with crowd quickly as they worked their way through tracks from their latest album, The Ornament, with singer Grant Olsen pausing in between songs to remark on the tightness of the crowd. Reverb drenched Olsen’s voice and the pedal steel guitar of his band-mate, and though the songs were all somewhat quiet (something about their looks made you want them to rock the f*&% out once or twice) I was impressed nonetheless.

After a quick break, the house lights went down again leaving only a bright orange beam directed at the second guitarist. Projected on screen behind the band were videos of waves and static, creating a sense of intimacy in the somewhat sweltering darkness. Bondy stepped onstage wearing a worn baseball cap, sweatshirt and carrying a backpack. Chewing a toothpick, he looked determined, stringing out his pedals and giving commands on how set up gear. That energy transferred into the first song (also the first track on his new album, Believers) “The Heart Is Willing,” a tense stomp over which he delivered vocals like warnings against monsters that lurk at night.