McMorrow pieced together each instrumental part to make his lush, atmospheric debut Early in the Morning, so his live performance found him rebuilding each song without accompaniment. Fortunately his art is the sort that celebrates simplicity, from the rural landscapes that populate his lyrics to the flexibility of a setlist handwritten in a notebook. McMorrow’s melodic sound and haunting voice often draw comparisons to Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes, but by the time he left the stage, everyone knew the name of the man behind the music. Normally this would be the point when audience members shoved forward to get even closer to the stage, but there was a surprising amount of civility at this show. When Bell X1 took the stage, they were greeted with plenty of cheers, but the enthusiasm seemed to be genuinely for the music. The band delivered a somewhat different setlist to appease the fans who were coming out for the second night in a row, and each song was met with recognition even as the selections spanned four albums (with only their debut unrepresented). Paul Noonan is an engaging frontman gifted with self-effacing charm and banter (Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” was quoted at one point). Bassist/rocker of a leopard print guitar strap Dominic Philips and multi-instrumentalist/sometimes lead singer/probably secret ninja David Geraghty round out the original lineup, and despite playing as a group for so long, the guys still exchanged excited glances and smiles at different points throughout the night. With Marc Aubele and Rory Doyle taking over guitar, keyboard, and drum duties live, Noonan’s hands are freed either to take on extra guitar or drums or to dance in his own endearing way (which he compared to watching an uncle dance at a wedding). As Noonan’s own lyrics states, Bell X1 will likely “never be proper famous,” but they clearly enjoy what they do and challenge themselves all the same. 