Mountain Goat chief songwriter John Darnielle may not have much control over his instruments, but he certainly has power over the audience. Throughout the band's Saturday night show at the Middle East, Darnielle had issues with tuning and at one point lost an earplug in his pocket.

The audience so did not care. Darnielle could have gone onstage and tripped over a cord. The audience still would have loved it. When he emerged onto the stage, he high-fived members of the crowd before he and his backing band, bassist Peter Hughes and drummer John Wurster, launched into "Michael Myers Resplendent" from the band's latest record, "Heretic Pride." Then, when the audience learned his birthday was Sunday, someone tried to treat him to some booze, which he graciously turned down because he didn't want to suffer a hangover.

Songs from Darnielle's recent releases were more successful, particularly in a larger venue like the Middle East. At one point, Hughes and Wurster departed, leaving Darnielle onstage with a guitar and a handful of older songs. While the Mountain Goats die-hards were understandably in heaven, the folksy moment called for a more intimate venue. That said, when the band rocked, such as with "Sax Rohmer #1" and "In the Craters on the Moon," they filled the Middle East with sound.

When the Mountain Goats launched into "Lovecraft in Brooklyn," perhaps the most rocking song on "Heretic Pride," the crowd went nuts. Mild outbreaks of headbanging and booty-shaking were spotted. Even better, Darnielle substituted "Brookline" for "Brooklyn."

More after the jump! Photos by Caroline Roberts and Len von Morze.

The awkward Darnielle, in his plain suit, turned out to be quite the showman. The only problem--though few people at the show felt it was a problem, judging from the constant cheering--was that he couldn't decide if he wanted to do the folky thing or the rock thing. At one point, he seemed surprised that he could do the rock thing, declaring, "The electric guitar isn't here for decoration. I can play it!" (To which a member of the audience responded, "Yes you can, John! Just believe in yourself!"

Maybe for the next tour, Darnielle could commit to one genre. He's good at both of them, but the change would let him devote himself to one music team. An all-rock set would also give his excellent backing band more chance to shine.

A special nod goes to opening band The Moaners, a duo from North Carolina. Melissa Swingle was on guitar and harmonica, and Laura King beat the living hell out of her red-white-and-blue drumkit. Their songs weren't tight or structured, but they had strong blues and Southern rock influences, and they won Bostonist's heart with a song inspired by the movie "Foxy Brown" and featuring the lyric "She's got a black belt in bar stool." The Moaners are one of those bands who should be headlining within a year, and, if they aren't, it would be a crime.