Of course, these are all meant for those used to the run of the mill as opposed to someone like Devendra, but his live banter certainly adhered to the stereotype. After a plethora of wolf howls and talk about transcending something or other, Devendra suddenly came out with “Does anyone have music they would like to share?”  | | Devendra Banhart (pic: Elly Roberts) |
Almost immediately, George (or was it John?) clambered on stage, his bandana seemingly atop an inane grin. The fan’s ballad, Put A Light In Your Window, followed with Devendra lightly padding away on drums, so smooth a performance that incredulous whispers of ‘it’s got to be staged!’ began to rumble around Academy 2. But that’s the thing about Devendra – nothing’s planned. For a musician whose name is certainly a buzz word of the moment, judging by the surprisingly trendy looking crowd and perhaps no thanks to a cheese advert, it was a very modest yet very genuine and captivating performance.  | | Devendra Banhart (pic: Elly Roberts) |
He could quite have easily shown off, going overboard with the eccentricities and quirky sounds found on the records and relying on Cripple Crow’s big singalongs to whip up the crowd. Instead, the songs, despite his bearded backing of two other guitars and drums, were more stripped down, accentuating his Marc Bolan vocal shake and idiosyncratic lyrics. It was only as he neared the end of the set, with the inevitable I Feel Like A Child, that he proceeded to roll around on the floor, tugging at his denim waistcoat and T-shirt ensuring a universal female whoop at the line ‘pull off my clothes.’ But still, it seemed so natural – there wasn’t an ounce of egotism about him. | 
