Two months into its busy U.S. tour, Built to Spill lodged in Ithaca on Thursday night to play an offbeat form of rock and roll, and found an attractive crowd to match. Affecting its best indie rock persona, State Theatre played host. While sometimes the State Theatre pins everyone to his or her assigned seat, the mood on Thursday was looser, providing the right recipe for just a few shenanigans. The show featured two other bands as well, Disco Doom and Violent Soho, who were commissioned to set the mood.

The first opener reminded one of AC/DC. Australians alike, this band did not have quite the talent of their muses, blasting away with way too heavy instrumentals. Their hair twirling was a spectacle, however, adding a visual element to the entertainment. Disco Doom, a Swiss band that Built to Spill acquired as an opener while touring Europe, followed the first opening act. Though talented, Disco Doom lacked the musical versatility of the main act. Their riffs were catchy and energizing at first, but fell into an unchanging, worn-out rhythm. Hammering the ear for far too long, their sound became a monotonous, noisy drone. Despite the over-bearing bass, however, by the time Built to Spill appeared on stage, the adrenaline level was just right.

Upon opening, one became immediately transfixed on Doug Martsch’s quirky appearance and gesticulations. The band looked as though they had time-traveled from the Civil War to Ithaca to revive the Gun Factory rather than to play at the State Theatre. Each member played stoically in place, intensely focused on the task at hand as if it were divinely granted. Marstch bobbled his head to the music, and his detached gaze gave the impression that something possessed him. Most enchanting of all was his high-pitched voice, a surprising sound to come from such a grizzled man. Yet all of these characteristics together fit the music perfectly.

They opened with “Traces,” a song from their 2006 album, You in Reverse, whose connotations were as philosophical as the inclination one got when listening to it. Hard to classify precisely, Built to Spill’s music combines many elements of rock together to form a distinct sound. Martsch created the band in 1992, and its musical range indicates that many influences have been at work over the years. Psychedelic guitar riffs turned into grungy descents into punk sounding music, before floating back up to form effervescent melodies. At times, they compressed these elements, forming a well-layered body during the crescendo of a song. During the chorus of “In Your Mind,” a few songs into the set, Built to Spill weaved together thumping bass and rhythm guitar with whining electric riffs, adding a trippy element to energetic rock. Martsch’s voice played the role of guide along with his guitar, which sang just as much.

“Nowhere, Nothing, Fuck-up” also displayed many elements at work together. Starting with a few modified lines of “Oh! Sweet Nothing” by the Velvet Underground, they took it in another direction, escalating to shouting, before calming down with playful poetry: “In America, every puddle, gasoline rainbow.” Not quite sure what the lyrics meant, but if the rest of the song was an angry rant, these words were an apology. “Kicked in the Sun,” the first song on the encore, mixed relaxing bluesy rock with a bit of hyper distortion.

Even though one main focus of their three-month tour is to promote tracks from their new album, There is No Enemy, they did not make it apparent on Thursday night. As to why was even less apparent. Perhaps they needed a break from their newer stuff, or perhaps they sensed a preference in the fan base for familiar songs. Although they only played two songs from There is No Enemy, both were effective. Warming things up with his boyish voice, Martsch did not introduce a new song until midway through the set, with “Hindsight.” It did not deviate much from the rest of the set stylistically, but rather made use of their most distinctive features: Martsch’s hypnotic vocals and guitar resonating above spastic drums and bass. They ended with “Done,” a melancholic new tune that stings the emotions with its negativity, yet in an oddly soothing way.

Built to Spill maintained a very professional relationship with the crowd. Jesting the right amount between songs, they soon returned to a meditative state while playing, a fact that made them all the more intriguing. Not even the few drunken revelers who washed up on stage were able to deter Martsch from delivering one guitar solo after the next. Before the encore, they played “Carry that Zero,” one of their popular songs. The wailing electric guitar struck a note with the fans, which cheered loudly as the concert came to a close.

As his last request, Martsch asked the lighting crew to turn the light onto the audience, leaving the band in the darkness.