When Sondre Lerche recorded his award-winning debut album Faces Down in 2000, his record company delayed the release of the album so the youngster could fulfill his high school academic requirements. Since then, the Norwegian wunderkind has toured with the likes of Elvis Costello, released a few more albums, and scored the soundtrack to last year’s Steve Carrel movie Dan in Real Life. Last night at Joe’s Pub, the benefits of all that experience showed.

Backed only by his personality and shadow (jokingly explaining that the his band “couldn’t get in” to the sold-out show), the now 25-year-old commanded the stage with only the pink Lego piece on a chain around his neck betraying his youth.

“Hey Joe’s Pub! What’s cookin’?” began Lerche before troubadour-ing with contagious enthusiasm and genuine joy, appealing to both his peers and their grandparents alike. To the delight of the die-hards he played a few songs from his in-the-works album -- one track called “Old Mighty Moon,” and another, “Heartbeat Radio,” an international diddy with verses written in Bergen, Oslo, and his current residence of New York.

Even with the occasional glitch, the intimacy of the venue still made the show work. “Do you know the song I’m trying to play?” Lerche asked the audience when he forgot the beginning to “Minor Detail.” They did. They also supplied the female counter-vocals to “Modern Nature” off Faces Down and, when their hero’s finger cramped up during the second verse of “Sleep on Needles,” one finance guy in the second table back reassured him that it was just “trigger finger” and he’d be fine for the 10:30 show. Luckily for the second batch of fans, the finance guy was right.
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