SUNDAY, MARCH 11: The bulk of the Mountain Goats’ music is fueled by the expansive imagination and playful lyricism of signer/ songwriter John Darnielle, and this show at the El Rey Theater provided a glimpse into the troubled relationships, suburban backyards, and tightly knit communities populating Darnielle’s world. Performing with bass player Peter Hughes and drummer Jon Wurster, the trio revisited the lo-fi recordings from which the Mountain Goats emerged. Overlaying clean acoustic guitar and pop rhythms upon the intensely personal subject matter is essentially the sugar that makes the medicine go down, and the audience lapped it up as Darnielle’s wavering voice poured out his life history in “Dance Music.” Although the sold-out show packed the theater, Darnielle held the audience close between songs with stories about growing up in Southern California and his trips to see shows at the El Rey while he was in college. The performance—sometimes approaching moments of rocking like in “This Year”—felt more akin to a book reading accompanied by a band, where the words captured attention more than the music. Although the trio could have benefited from more instrumentation or the orchestration that fills out their studio albums, the Mountain Goats created an enjoyable night of song and narratives. (DT)