The impending nor’easter made for an oddly low-key turnout at Maxwell’s last Thursday night, but those who braved the rain were rewarded with a spectacular performance from the two groups that took to the stage.

The Roadside Graves startled show-goers when they opened with roaring three-part harmonies set in a southern rock tradition. Echoing along the lines of Creedance Clearwater Revival and Orleans, these six fellows are a little slice of Americana that employ a timeless rockabilly-country sensibility. Going along with conventions for that genre is their penchant for storytelling, with personally inspired songs about different stages of love. Older songs about avoiding marriage were played alongside Help Me, I’m Endangered, an open letter to singer John Gleason’s wife. After heavy hitters like that, they ended their set by stepping offstage and performing a foot-stomping unplugged rendition of Jail, dancing and hollering inside a crowd-formed circle.

To be reflective for a moment, I learned a pretty valuable lesson from my first experience with The Love Language back in August. Making the mistake of showing up unfamiliar with their songs had me feeling like the odd man out amongst the crowd of word-for-word singing die-hard fans! This time I came prepared, fully armed with my newfound adoration for them from the previous show.

Lo-fi hits from their self-titled debut and their more recent album Libraries absolutely come alive on stage and fill every corner of a performance space, beautifully showcasing the major pipes of singer/songwriter Stuart McLamb. His songs are incredibly relatable because they truly speak the bittersweet language of love, pouring out feelings of hope, confusion, and heartache for the world to see. The deep subject matter is lightened up, however, with lively tambourine rattles and rhythms that make you bop up and down, starting off subtle and calculated only to blast into full-powered pop rock ballads. The Love Language generously honored requests and a provided a lengthy encore for the lucky few who made it out that night, and it was apparent that band and audience alike were grateful to have shared in such an intimate evening.