Sam Evian, in a performance with his band on April 26, shortened the distance between the Catskills and the Laurel Canyon, as well as the time passed between those regions’ musical heydays and the present. Evian knows the sounds he likes, and he knows how to get them, which has made him a producer of choice for artists like Big Thief and Blonde Redhead. Supporting his new album, “Plunge,” with a headline show at Music Hall of Williamsburg, in the Hudson Valley resident’s old neck of the woods, Evian made a gently psychedelic and tuneful noise, deeply indebted to his influences but not a rote homage to the past.
“Wild Days”, which opens “Plunge,” started the show, built on a repeating, drone-like rhythm and riff, exploring the unease and tension of the minor key without searching for a resolution. Much of Evi
an’s music during the show could be described that way — more about spending some time with the question rather than finding an answer. “Jacket” reimagined ’70s midtempo rock, and “Country,” from 2018’s “You, Forever,” was constructed on a chugging bassline. “Where Did You Go,” from the same release, featured a serpentine, Wilco-esque lead guitar part.
The set drifted into Hendirxian blue-rock, synthesizer flourishes and Evian’s first saxophone foray of the night on “Cherry Tree,” a track from 2019. Evian ended the set proper with “Rollin’ In,” one of the better songs on “Plunge,” a straightforward and yearning song, with a rippling feel to match the title and lyrics.
A tasty, three-song encore kicked off with “Why Does It Take So Long,” another “Plunge” tune, a breezy, crunchy rocker, more glam than the Beatles (one of Evian’s self-avowed chief influences). While most of the set could be described as meandering, this song got straight to the point: thumping bass, straight-up drum grooves, an organ solo and a chorus made for singing along, all amounting to a celebration.
“How ’bout a cover?” Evian asked, switching back to sax (the shift to the woodwind instrument was a crowd-pleaser, and he picked his moments). After some sound difficulties, he moved the vocal mic from his organ set-up to center stage, and the tune became recognizable as the Paul Simon ballad “Still Crazy After All These Years,” which Evian sang back at the organ. It was pleasing to hear Evian fully dip into one of his influences, and his nerdy banter afterward about the song’s structure was a funny touch.
“We’ll try to end it on a party note. We got a disco ball in this place?” Evian asked, and his request was obliged, and he sent the audience home with one more rocker.
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