Like a lot of people, I first learned about the music of Kishi Bashi from a recommendation by Bob Boilen (of NPR’s Tiny Desk) way back in 2012ish. I fell hard for 151a (pronounced “ichi-go ichi-e) and have quietly followed every album since, but never been to one of his shows. When a friend of mine posted photos from The Lincoln, I resolved to make sure I finally caught one.

In my household, I am something of a music dictator in that I choose what plays aloud nearly 100% of the time (with some exceptions), and the rest of the time, I’m usually listening in my ears as the house is largely silent. My wife had had some exposure to Kishi Bashi, but a weird thing happened wherein his albums became outdoor and car albums for me; something about moving with the music feels right in a way it’s hard to articulate. So she went into last night’s show almost cold.

She left the show calling it her favorite in years and maybe her favorite ever at the 9:30 Club. And I understand her completely.

The way Kishi Bashi and his band so effortlessly fuse complex musical ideas and passages with the true joys of pop and its shared singing is paralleled by few and maybe none. He embraced the audience and invited us into the world of his music, which is dense with beauty and life and pain and joy.

The setlist featured 151a and a selection of other songs from his catalog, including a stunning new one called “Violin Tsunami.” A short selection of photos are included below.