Kevin Bronson on March 20th, 2009

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Amid the utter bedlam that is the South by Southwest Music Festival (which is not so much spring break as it is an orgiastic feeding frenzy for the music-hungry), it is possible to find moments of solace. And those who braved the long wait (or arrived as much as two hours ahead of time) to see Grizzly Bear on Thursday were rewarded with sanctuary.

Or, rather, a sanctuary. The setting was Central Presbyterian Church, two blocks from the madness on 6th Street. The echoey place of worship suited the Brooklyn ensemble’s meticulously arranged material beautifully as they delivered something of a doo-wop sermon crossed with folk-rock liturgy. The vocals from Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen were just short of transporting, or maybe not just short at all. And it’s not every band that can say it has its audience glued to the pews.

The indie darlings seemed almost taken aback by the reception. “We played South by Southwest once, four years ago,” Droste allowed. “Very unofficial. In a pizza parlor.” Those days are gone.

Afterward, I saw Droste at Emo’s and asked him to fill in a prayers card I rescued from the floor of the church. That’s what he wrote, above.