It seemed awkward for Martsch to take the stage alone after playing with a band in the opening set.
Bearded, wearing flannel and a toboggan and sitting alone with an acoustic guitar, he had a certain boyish charm. But his stage presence was far from commanding.
He barely acknowledged the presence of the audience except for one strained moment when he became irritated and asked people not to talk while he was playing.
The set list was varied, but the most interesting selections were slide guitar tunes from Martsch's recent solo album Now You Know.
These were well-received but less effective live than on the record because of both a lack of production and sound system problems. At one point his guitar cut out altogether and he had to restart a song.
Solo versions of several Built to Spill songs were audience favorites, along with a few covers. Martsch opened with John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" and later played a tongue-in-cheek version of the rock classic "Love Hurts."
His lyrical delivery was at times genius and at other times lacking. "I hung around like another pronoun/Familiar but lacking a name," he cleverly asserted in "Heart."
But pseudo-sentimental love songs reeking of cheese overshadowed these witty and inspired moments.
Martsch altered his voice with a digital echo throughout the entire show, presumably to help thicken the sound. This was an interesting idea, but in retrospect it seemed like a trick to make his voice more interesting than it actually is.
After a brief encore, the audience filed quietly out of the Cat's Cradle. The show was more an informal portrait of Martsch the songwriter than a rock show and would have been better set in a coffee shop.
In the end, Martsch's live presence didn't reflect the musical maturity to be expected of someone who has produced so much critically acclaimed music.
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The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
