(Deepest, most sincere apologies to Shiver like Timber for missing her set. If her past performances are anything to go on, it was amazing.)

Alt. country local Chris Pickering is performing solo tonight with no more than an electric guitar, a harmonica and a microphone. Pickering’s mid-range vocals and his gorgeously clean finger picked guitar resonate through The Troubadour’s speakers at the perfect volume. Pickering’s ability to hold the attention of his audience for the entirety of his set keeps background chatter to a minimum, even with The Troubadour being close to full. His finger picking and occasional use of harmonica perfectly supplement his smooth, pleasant vocals so that the lack of variation in instrumentation is of no hindrance to his performance. Pickering exits to a hearty applause at the conclusion of his set.

Melbourne’s The Small Knives are up next with their Kings of Convenience style take on a guitar-driven indie folk sound. Consisting of two guitarists/vocalists occasionally punctuated by a drummer and a bassist, the band’s simple songs that focus on subtle harmonies are effective. The crowd, however, are growing restless and it’s clear who they’ve come to see.

Perhaps at one point in his career, Bill Callahan (formerly known as Smog) could have been considered the king of lo-fi indie folk. All of that has changed with the release of Callahan’s most recent album Woke on a Whaleheart. With the changing of his stage name, Callahan has changed his approach to the creation of music; his once sparse arrangements have been replaced with lush strings and backing vocals. All of that aside, it’s clear from tonight’s arrangements that Callahan likes to keep things simple. Callahan is the sole guitarist in his band and he uses the same small acoustic guitar for his whole set. His three female violinists (who all double as backing vocalists) play simple but pretty lines that always augment Callahan’s songs but never overpower them. A drummer and a bass guitarist make up the rest of Callahan’s band and their parts are subtle to the point that it’s occasionally easy to forget they’re even there.

Tonight’s set focuses on a variety of material from different points in Callahan’s career. Diamond Dancer and Sycamore are easily the best representatives of Woke on a Whaleheart material, the former being perhaps the set’s most upbeat number and the latter featuring some of the set’s most lovely male/female vocal harmonies. Callahan’s almost complete lack of interaction with the audience during the long set doesn’t seem to trouble too many of the audience members, particularly as the intimacy of The Troubadour removes much of the need for between-song banter. Callahan’s frighteningly deep voice best resembles Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner and The Troubadour’s remarkably clear PA manages to pick up his enunciations with great precision. The second half of tonight’s set is perhaps its most enjoyable. Teenage Spaceship is breathtakingly gorgeous and Rock Bottom Riser is very well-received, but it’s the clap-along anthem Cold Blooded Old Times that the audience wants to hear most. After leaving the stage, Callahan gives it a good few minutes before coming back on for an encore, but it’s worth the wait. Callahan’s long and comprehensive set is a truly worthwhile experience for all members of the audience and all those in attendance will undoubtedly have their fingers crossed for Callahan to return in the near future.