PHOTOS BY CARLIE ARMSTRONG

Los Angeles was still reeling from an atrocious heat wave, thus "hot" was the operative word last night (Sept. 4) as Okkervil River took the stage in front of a sold-out Troubadour crowd. But that didn't sap the energy of the band, nattily dressed in suits, from delivering a sweat-drenched, raucous alt-country set. Western Keys frontman Ben Dickey (who also happens to be Okkervil River's manager), and Seattle tunesmith Damien Jurado opened the show. Jurado, road testing material for the new album, pulled out old gem "Ohio," while closing his performance with a haunting rendition of Low's "Murderer."

As the heat drenched the revered L.A. venue walls, Okkervil River delivered select tunes from both 2005's Black Sheep Boy and their latest LP, The Stage Names. Vocalist/guitarist Will Sheff, who discarded his jacket his four songs in, roared through "The Latest Toughs," ultimately tearing his mic off the stand and jumping around in time to his earnest guitar work. Eventually his long sleeves would go up and, finally, the dress shirt was removed upon the band's return for an encore -- upbeat numbers such as "For Real" and "Unless it Kicks," were surefire crowd pleasers, once more ramping up the hot frenzy to feverish heights. Lucky for fans, the band's searing passion was exactly what they needed to quench searing temperatures outside.  

We asked: The new Okkervil River LP is entitled The Stage Names. If you were a famous performer, what would your stage name be?

Name: Erik Georgeson
Age: 18
Hometown: Encinitas, CA
Occupation: Student
"Valet Bandit. I just saw the word 'valet' outside and thought it was a cool word."

Name: Dana West
Age: 29
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Artist management
"Deux Deux. That's what I go by with some of the bands I know."

Name: Elizabeth Clemmons
Age: 20s
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Linguistic specialist
"Mrs. Smith, because I'm married to Mr. Smith."

Name: Chris Sprat
Age: 26
Hometown: San Fernando Valley, CA
Occupation: Route driver
"Jimmy Leadwell. That's what you get if you take my dad's middle name and the name of the street I grew up on."

Name: Joe Elizondo
Age: 22
Hometown: Gardena, CA
Occupation: Tutor
"I think I'd go by my real name."

Name: Brant Cox
Age: 20
Hometown: Laguna Niguel, CA
Occupation: Student/surfer
"Capybara."

Name: Brad Stenke
Age: 26
Hometown: Simi Valley, CA
Occupation: Behavioral therapist
"Baltimore Brad. I'm not from Baltimore; I just like the word."

Name: Monica West
Age: 28
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Occupation: Etiquette instructor
"Bebe Lacrux."

Sheff is all 'Savannah Smiles' / Photo by Carlie Armstrong

Sheff with cornet player Scott Brackett / Photo by Carlie Armstrong

Drummer Travis Nelson / Photo by Carlie Armstrong

Bassist Patrick Pestorius / Photo by Carlie Armstrong

Sheff, leading with trombone / Photo by Carlie Armstrong