Andrew Veeder on May 22nd, 2015

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It’s a wonderful thing to watch a band tear through set before a full house, and question who had the most fun — the audience, whose enthusiastic roar continued rising throughout the evening, or the band themselves, beaming after every song.

Such was the case on Tuesday night at the Troubadour, with Brooklyn’s San Fermin headlining the bill, an eight-piece multi-ethnic and eclectic multi-instrumental band put together by mastermind and ringleader Ellis Ludwig-Leone, featuring Charlene Kaye and Allen Tate on lead vocals, and rounded out by John Brandon on trumpet, Stephen Chen on saxophone, Rebekah Durham on violin/vocals, Michael Hanf on drums and Tyler McDiarmid on guitar. The collective filled the stage and played the majority of their newly released album “Jackrabbit,” as well as a few tracks from their 2013 self-titled effort.

The dueling and tag-teaming of Kaye and Tate’s lead vocals fit San Fermin’s baroque-pop sensibility well, a cross between Edward Sharpe, Sufjan Stevens and Woodkid, with Kaye’s voice showcasing her range on “Ladies Mary” and “Philosopher,” while Tate’s husky baritone a la the National’s Matt Berninger shining on “Astronaut” and “Woman In Red.” By the time they’d finished a handful of songs, the crowd started erupting with more and more applause, causing Tate to shake his head numerous times in disbelief and glee.

The camaraderie of the band was evident as members swapped instruments after almost every song, and respective solos were congratulated with high fives and smiles amongst themselves, especially when Brandon sprinted up the green room staircase mid-song and emerged in the lofted sound booth for a trumpet solo from above, or Chen stepped forward to wail on the sax.

They closed the set with the lush “Billy Bibbit” and the energetic “Jackrabbit,” and exited stage right by high fiving fans before coming right back down for an encore, featuring “Renaissance!” from their debut album, and a righteous cover of Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” complete with sax and violin solos. As the applause reached its peak and they once again left stage, Tate shook his head one more time, and said, “L.A., we f*cking love you guys.” The feeling was mutual.

Critical darling Natalie Prass kicked off the bill with a six-song set, backed by usual suspects Scott Clark on drums, Michael Libramento on bass and Trey Polland on guitar, the latter of whom co-produced her debut album. The band sounded tighter than at their Hotel Cafe show in February, having been mostly on the road in the interim, but also seemed to be having more fun with the material, exploring the nuances of arrangement without the album’s horns or strings in a playful and relaxed manner.

“Bird of Prey” and “My Baby Don’t Understand Me” came to life with more of a blues tinge, as did their cover of Janet Jackson’s “Any Time, Any Place,” with Ryan Adams joining the band to play Prass’ guitar as she sang and clutched a Godzilla stuffed animal, effortlessly solo-ing a choice outro to wind it down, and staying on stage to make said guitar weep during the devastating “Violently.” They closed with “Why Don’t You Believe In Me,” which Prass sang with a scowl and in more of a pissed-off tone, giving the number more depth, and an edge that transformed it from heartbroken to triumphantly moving on.