Kevin Bronson on January 29th, 2015

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Two takeaways from Mini Mansions‘ too-brief headlining show on Wednesday night at the Troubadour: 1) It’s a disservice to pigeonhole the L.A. trio as a “psych-pop” band. 2) People really love Alex Turner.

• ||| Photos by David Benjamin

The L.A.-based trio of Zach Dawes, Tyler Parkford and Michael Shuman unleashed an audacious display of their forward-thinking pop in front of a packed house, harmonizing like guys worthy of having Brian Wilson guest on their album (he does) and rocking like people who know how to command an arena (they do; Shuman is the bassist of Queens of the Stone Age and Mini Mansions opened last year on Arctic Monkeys’ tour).

Speaking of those British rockers, Arctic Monkeys’ main man Turner, as he has a couple of times before, made a cameo during the song “Vertigo” — actually, it was more of a drive-by. He materialized at the south side of the stage during the penultimate song, belted out two verses and exited north to the dressing room. Screams were heard.

By then, Mini Mansions had already proven that this was a real rock show. The sharp-dressed trio featured Shuman in the center, singing while alternating between stand-up percussion and guitar, flanked by bassist Dawes and singer-keyboardist Parkford. At various junctures, the music recalled the subversive playfulness of Devo, the outsized attitude of ’70s glam and the warm crackle of ’60s AM radio. They never linger to the point of homage, though, and Mini Mansions’ arresting breakdowns and tempo shifts ensure the energy is always ractheted up to 11.

The set included covers of Sparks’ “Sherlock Holmes” (the B-side to their single “Death Is a Girl”) and Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” the latter re-imagined as an oozing stomp. Their latest single “Any Emotions” provoked a modest sing-along, but mostly the Troubadour crowd either shook their bodies or awaited the next bout of theatrics from Shuman.

The crowd was sprinkled with Mini Mansions long-timers who embraced the trio’s 2009 EP and saw their formative shows in tiny venues as long as five years ago. Those fans will get their payoff when Mini Mansions’ debut “The Great Pretenders” is out March 24.

Preceding the headliners were young L.A. quartet Fever the Ghost, whose acid-trip psychedelia recalls an even-more-out-there Clinic. Their set suffered a bit because of frontman Casper Indrizzo’s vocal fatigue — or it might have been the rain slicker-with-a-veil he wore for the first two-thirds of the show. No matter; these guys make Ariel Pink seem like a guy in a business suit.

Early arrivals Thursday were rewarded with a vibrant solo set from Cameron Avery, aka The Growl. The Australian singer-guitarist, who has been in the bands Pond and Tame Impala, proved one of those troubadours worthy of playing a venue with that name. He combined his rich baritone and even richer lyricism with live-looped effects, performing songs from an album in the works.