As a prelude to his headlining show tonight (12/11) in Williamsburg, Will Sheff [ tickets ]--lead singer of the Austin based band Okkervil River [ tickets ]--treated fans to a solo in-store gig at the cozy East Village record store Other Music on Wednesday night (12/10). The rain was an almost welcome prologue to the evening; a line of umbrellas curved around the block while Sheff finished a last-minute sound check. The tiny room felt miniature as ever--shelves pushed flush against the wall to accommodate the crowd and video equipment. White Christmas lights draped over CD racks served as a perfectly minimalist backdrop.

Clad in brown corduroys and draped in harmonicas, Sheff possesses that characteristic balance of a weary traveler and a stately scholar. In other words, he looks like a college English major. I didn't recognize the first song for obvious reasons; he later revealed it hadn't quite made the cut when assembling the companion Okkervil River albums "The Stage Names" and "The Stand Ins." Segueing straight into the standout track "Lost Coastlines" from the band's most recent release, Sheff tackled both his vocal part as well as those verses shared with (former) bandmate Jonathan Meiburg. This song is, perhaps, the ideal number to showcase the complimentary voices of the two troubadours. Still, with lips kissing his mic, Sheff managed a shimmering solo rendition.

The remainder of the eight-song set featured a gem Sheff said he'd never performed before, as well as one sung by Wrens frontman Charles Bissell (who opens Sheff's show tonight in Brooklyn). Aside from a few slight head bobs, the crowd appeared hauntingly subdued. Although I had already been treated to a set of bull body chills during the first five minutes of the performance, I was holding my breath for one final emotional jolt, which came with the opening chords of "Unless It's Kicks." Maybe it's the lyrics ("On a dark windless night/With the stereo on/With the towns flying by/And the ground getting soft"), or the galloping guitars--but this song makes me pine to drive down a deserted ocean road at night, windows down, hair wild. I had foolishly neglected to eat dinner before the show, yet I walked out completely full.