Okkervil River, with Wye Oak, last night at The Granada

The first time I saw — or heard of, for that matter — Austin’s Okkervil River, they were opening for John Vanderslice at the Bottleneck and they were playing for approximately 10 people. Their second album, Down the River of Golden Dreams, was just out, and they played their set with a packed-house intensity. At one point, frontman Will Sheff climbed on top of the bass drum and almost fell off. It didn’t phase him. He went right back to singing as if the person he wrote the song for were in the audience. That’s Sheff’s great gift. He’s a magnificent lyricist, and, based on Okkervil River’s consistently excellent discography, he knows his way around a tune. But it’s how he sells his songs that makes him special. It’s what has made every Okkervil River show I’ve been to memorable, and it’s what made their Monday night show at The Granada excellent despite the fact that technical difficulties threatened to rip the show apart.