Despite technical difficulties, Sharon Van Etten and her band were in good spirits at the Firebird last night, bantering with the crowd and poking fun at the strange feedback Van Etten was hearing in her on-stage monitor.

Even with the transplant status of several band members and a few stints living abroad, the Head and the Heart have put down deep Seattle roots.

Shearwater, a 5-piece band fronted by Jonathan Meiburg that shares it's name with a sea bird, filled the Duck Room with powerful, complex arrangements that relied on instrumental layering, rather than hooks to hold the audience's attention.