The first time I saw J Tillman live was during a 1:20 pm set at the Red Eyed Fly in Austin, Texas at this year’s SXSW. His ultra mellow solo set (where I believe he lulled a couple of audience members back to sleep) provided the perfect way to ease into the non-stop music fueled partying that was SXSW 2009. I was rather curious and a little tentative to see how that ultra mellow vibe would translate to a late night show here at the Echo in Los Angeles. What I ended up seeing last Thursday night was a whole other Tillman. Beautiful songs still, yes, but with a full band that at times they would reach Entrance Band territory on the heavy tunes meter, Tillman surprised the hell out of me. No wonder the Fleet Foxes snatched up this versatile and talented dude. More photos, by India Brookover, are after the jump.

And Evan Way with members of the Parson Redheads