"Sometimes I become this bitter person, you know, the kind who drinks wine and talks shit about everybody... anyway, I was having one of those days when I wrote this song."

That was how Elisabeth Corrin Maurus, aka Lissie, introduced one of the tunes off new album "Back To Forever," but the sentiment was a rare serious moment in a night infused with both the joy and awe-inducing skill of seasoned musicians.

Opening for the night were Chase Cohl, a Canadian singer who'd accompanied Lissie and co. during their NYC show, and the Kopecky Family Band, a charmingly rowdy troupe of musicians led by the captivating Kelsey Kopecky. The Family Band's set was a nice teaser for the main event, as they set the bar for on-stage physicality (I've never seen anyone shake a tambourine that intensely) and on point sound (one highlight: a stellar cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk").

But when Lissie and her band took the stage, they took that bar, snapped it across their collective knees, and delivered one of the most intense live music performances this writer has ever had the pleasure of seeing and hearing.

ALSO READ: Interview: Lissie

While the band members, especially lead guitarist Eric Sullivan, are all powerful musicians in their own right, it's clear why Lissie is the proverbial star of this show. Maurus's voice has the texture of shark skin, but when she sings, she glides through her considerable range with a deceptive ease. During her many vocal runs, she sounds like she's glissing through the transitions, sticking her endings effortlessly.

Lissie peppered anecdotes, musings, and the occasional opaque merch shill (including an instance where she actually threw a shirt she was wearing into the audience) throughout the show, but outside of these clearly unpracticed interludes, she threw herself into her playing and singing, whether she was powering her way through anthemic tunes like "Further Away (Romance Police)" and "Shameless," jamming out with Sullivan on songs like "In Sleep" and "Little Lovin'," or bringing the Fonda to utter stillness during sweet and intimate renditions of "Everywhere I Go" and "Oh Mississippi."

Of course, Lissie's biggest claim to fame, whether just or not, are her jam rock cover arrangements of both expected artists like Fleetwood Mac and unexpected artists like Kid Cudi, with whom she's knocked heads over and since maybe become friends with? Whatever the case, when the stage lights first dimmed, the audience kept chanting for covers, and when the band came back for their encore, they didn't disappoint.

Though they closed with "Pursuit of Happiness," before that, they debuted their cover of Drake's "Hold On, We're Going On," which eschews the rapper's baby soft delivery for a much harder edge.

In a popular music scene so easily enthralled by any iteration of visual appeal and baseline technical ability, it's a real shame that acts like Lissie aren't more vaunted for their genuine talent and obvious passion for performing. But that doesn't seem to throw Maurus or her band off, a fact made plain by the look on her face as she gleefully belts out every lyric, her's or not, that passes through her lips.

Setlist:

1. "Bully"
2. "Record Collector"
3. "Sleepwalking"
4. "Love in the City"
5. "The Habit"
6. "When I'm Alone"
7. "They All Want You"
8. "Little Lovin'"
9. "I Don't Wanna Go To Work"
10. "Everywhere I Go"
11. "Shameless"
12. Unreleased ("Shroud"?)
13. "Further Away (Romance Police)"
14. "In Sleep"

ENCORE:

1. "Oh Mississippi"
2. "Hold On, We're Going Home" (Drake cover)
3. "Pursuit of Happiness" (Kid Cudi cover)

Read more of NT's show reviews here.

Reach Music Editor Lilian Min here; follow her on Twitter here and on Google+ here.