So hey, Cake Shop. Tropical wallpaper stretching for a dozen feet as you approach the stage, hanging red garlands and tiny white lights dangling amidst soundproofing foam. It’s become one of my favorite places to see shows in New York — actually, given that I once saw Daphne Brooks read from her book on Jeff Buckley’s Grace, it may well be one of my favorite spots for culture, period.

My main interest here this evening was in Human Highway — I have a review of their album in the next Death + Taxes, and I’ve been an admirer of Jim Guthrie’s work ever since Martin played me a good chunk of his Now, More Than Ever on a road trip in 2005. And co-Highwayman Nick Thorburn’s work with Islands has given me a lot of enjoyment over the last few years as well.

I arrived partway through Becky Stark’s set. It was, much like her band Lavender Diamond, ballooning with emotion to an almost ridiculous extent. Stark and Harper Simon each joined the other on stage; Simon’s set was twangy in places, evoking mid-70s Tom Petty, but never really crossed the line for me to become something fully memorable. Was it solid? Sure, and — don’t get me wrong — I’d happily listen to him again. But something about the set didn’t leave me entirely bowled over.

Human Highway, then. This was their first show, Guthrie and Thorburn along with three other musicians. The playing seemed hesitant at first, and the group’s overall tightness became more apparent as the set went on. Thorburn and Guthrie traded off lead vocals, playing most of Moody Motorcycle, as well as Now, More Than Ever’s “You Are Far (Do You Exist?)”. (I will confess to repeatedly shouting, “Yeah!” when Thorburn announced that they’d be playing a Guthrie song.) And by the end of the set, the closing version of “Duties of a Lighthouse Keeper” — for me, the highlight of Motorcyle — was wistful and bristling and pretty much hit all the proper smart-pop marks. The group moved from intimate singalongs to something a little more poised during their time on the Cake Shop stage, and if Human Highway seems a little smaller in scope than either of its songwriters’ other projects, that isn’t to suggest that they can’t push for widescreen when the occasion demands.