Decorum went out the window at St. Matthew's United Church as the crowd erupted at the appearance of Ottawa's the Acorn, clapping, stomping and hollering for the sprawling, adventuresome folk-rock band's first performance in Halifax in three years.

Singer-guitarist Rolf Klausener, who could've entertained the house with his chatter and quips without playing a note, decided spur of the moment to reveal their long absence from the city in a "continuing story" between songs, complete with the first cliffhanger: "We almost died last time...Part two later."
The band -- which emerged as a six-piece and was occasionally boosted by members from openers Ohbijou -- were constant jokers after each song concluded. Their first (and only) full-length album, 2007's 'Glory Hope Mountain' might be a tribute to Klausener's Honduran-born mother Gloria Esperanza Montoya, covering the first 30 years of her life, but there was no mention of that at all during the night.

Instead, the between-song banter was off the cuff, including the serialized saga of their previous visit. As each band member chimed in on what they remembered, it turned out that they experienced van trouble and hit a snow storm -- "visibility nil" -- whil towing a trailer. Got a flat tire, as well, and slid down a ramp."Let's never go back," they declared.

"I don't want to bore you with band stories," said Klausener, ending this particular road woe. They then launched into a new song about creation. "Seems fitting to play it in this place," he said, before playing the psychedelic harmony-drenched rocker. After that, the banter became amusingly sacrilegious.

It started with a comment about "pews" misheard as "pubes" and later Klausener queried the audience about how we're doing: "bored, excited, sleepy, horny?" He later requested Pentecostal clapping on one song, and even the respect of the audience prompted him to wonder, "what is it about churches and quiet? That would take thousands of years to explain."