For music fans, Seattle represents a certain aesthetic, and the trashy cement bunker named Kool Haus is as fitting a venue as there is in Toronto. But, The Head and the Heart are not a typical Seattle band. And, although the capacity crowd hung on every warble, the sorry acoustics and dingy atmosphere didn’t do them any favours.

Part of the nouveau folkie movement sweeping the United States that includes such bands as The Lumineers, Fleet Foxes and the Avett Brothers, The Head and the Heart are far removed from those troublesome miscreants that put Seattle on the musical map, such as Nirvana and Soundgarden. Instead of fuzzed out guitars and powerful yet barely coherent vocals, The Head and the Heart rely on finely crafted two and three-part harmonies and charming melody after charming melody. But, it should be noted that two of the band members rocked toques. So, some things haven't changed.

Over the 90-minute set the band drew from their self-titled debut as well as their new(ish) release, Let’s Be Still, although I’m not sure of the strategy behind leaving two of the band’s most popular songs, “Let's Be Still” and “Down in the Valley” to the absolute last, sweaty, beer-soaked minute. The crowd, a mix of young and old, was appreciative if mildly reserved.

The six-person band was charming. The trio of front folk, Josiah Johnson, Jonathan Russell and Charity Rose Thielen, were by turns dynamic, engaging and even cute, especially when it was revealed that Johnson met a certain someone while vacationing in Mexico. And that certain someone was from Toronto, in the crowd, and ended up singing a duet with Johnson as the first encore. Well played.

On their current trajectory, this will likely be the last appearance at Kool Haus for the band as they draw larger and larger crowds. And that’s a good thing. The intimacy of a smaller venue suits the band, as does a small theatre, but this style of music done exceedingly well gets lost in a cavern.

Toronto's Basia Bulat opened. She was great.