Jeremy Enigk played at the Bowery Ballroom last night and it was one of the best shows I have seen. The only real downside was the first two bands – I have to wonder if he only allows such mediocre opening acts so as to avoid being upstaged (as if that were even possible). The Digs were an overly sincere ambient/emo trio that were apparently pretty big fans of themselves, but their songs were little more than a single chord progression with maybe 25 words repeated slowly for 4-5 minutes. The King Left suffered from the opposite problem, avoiding sincerity altogether by affecting pseudo-British accents and stumbling through a series of indistinguishable bluesy jangling rock tunes. Their lead guitarist had a tendency to repeat the same bad jokes between songs and their drummer sped up every time he switched from the hi-hat to the ride cymbal, but by the end of their set, I think I was the only one who noticed.

Enigk’s band then took the stage and started with an extended version of “A New Beginning” from World Waits, a perfect overture to an enthusiastic 90-minute set, before kicking into “Been Here Before.” The song selection was well-balanced, covering both solo albums, as well as two covers and a song from The United States of Leland soundtrack. The band complimented him well throughout, adding energy but never getting in the way of the main attraction. Enigk’s voice (previously referred to as “the main attraction”) shined from start to finish, from the bottom of his raspy baritone in “City Tonight” and “Damien Dreams” to the anxious cries at the top of his register in “Shade and the Black Hat” and John Lennon’s “Mother.” He added a couple new vocal flourishes to increase the intensity in several songs, but still honored the album versions by keeping the big payoff moments largely intact.

Though it would have been great to hear “Ballroom Blitz” or “Burn” in a live setting (not to mention a Sunny Day Real Estate song or two), there was enough essential Enigk, old and new, to keep everyone happy. What struck me the most was just how humble and appreciative he was, stopping repeatedly to thank everyone in attendance for their support. I had spent the previous night agonizing over the track listing for the demo CD I intended to give him, but when the moment of truth came, I headed for the door. I was tired and I had to work in 8 hours, what can I say. Also I would have ended up in some embarassing combination of a shameless gush/swoon while I drooled over him, and making no impression at all might be better than making a bad one.

On the plus side, I received an e-mail this morning from a guy who stumbled across my music on Myspace and wanted to buy a CD, so I figure I’ll mail Enigk’s to him. Balancing the universe and all that. I’ll meet him one day. *sigh*