"We'd like to dedicate our show to peace on planet Earth," said Lavender Diamond singer Becky Stark, and thus began a set that was the calming eye of a stormy week. Last night's (June 12) intimate gathering at the Parish proved to be all about high hopes, awkward anecdotes and charming folk pop. The NYC quartet dusted the air with light-hearted arrangements, all while Stark delicately danced at the forefront in a white sundress. A classically trained soprano, she hit such crisp, high peaks on the waltzer "The Garden Rose" off their new album, Imagine Our Love, that she never really came down again until the close of the set. Except when she sat to sing "Dance Until Tomorrow" and the all-ages crowd promptly followed suit, sitting Indian-style in a semi-circle like it was 'story time.'

But, unfortunately, there was no milk or naptime to follow. Instead, Stark told a real story about how in an act of precious naivety she had accidentally stumbled into a 'strip bar' where she became confused and curiously enchanted by the dancing and spent all her money. She added, "My mother was a stripper when she was pregnant with me, I recently learned." No such confessions about their origins from openers the Entrance Band, but they were very generous in dishing out the super-psychedelic, spaced-out rock and nigh untamable guitar solos. Whereas Austin's Oh No! Oh My! were busy making with pirate stomp and blippidy blopping indie pop.WILLIAM MILLS / PHOTOS BY ERIC UHLIR

We Asked: If you could afford to give the one you love any gift, what would it be?

Name: Ryan Smith
Age: 24
Hometown: Frontenac, KS
Occupation: Firefighter
"A really good psychiatrist and twenty bucks."

Name: Ron Rege, Jr.
Age: 37
Hometown: Plymouth, MA
Occupation: Cartoonist/drummer for Lavender Diamond
"I'd give her (Becky Stark) her own eco-village on the L.A. River."

Name: Sharon VanEtten
Age: 26
Hometown: Clinton, NJ
Occupation: Musician
"Cape Hatteras."

Name: Millicent Hawkins
Age: 30
Hometown: Austin, TX
Occupation: Financial analyst
"A pinata with bottle caps candy in it."

Name: Brooke Pohl
Age: 19
Hometown: Austin, TX
Occupation: Student
"I'd get myself a college diploma."

Name: Nicole Holle
Age: 18
Hometown: Austin, TX
Occupation: Student
"I would give him a Stevie Ray Vaughan CD."

Name: Mike Booher
Age: 29
Hometown: Austin, TX
Occupation: Promoter/musician with Zykos
"A hummer. Do I have to go into detail?"

Name: Becky Stark
Age: 30
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Singer for Lavender Diamond
"I would give him (Ron Rege, Jr.) a forest on the sea."

Becky Stark and Ron Rege jr. / Photo by Eric Uhlir

Vocalist Becky Stark / Photo by Eric Uhlir

Drummer Ron Rege, jr. / Photo by Eric Uhlir

Becky Stark and Jeff Rosenberg / Photo by Eric Uhlir

Opening act The Entrance Band / Photo by Eric Uhlir