With indie credentials stretching back over 15 years, Unicorns’ Alden Penner has got a cult following.

Yet as Michael Cera came onto the stage and giggling whoops erupted, it was clear that he had usurped Penner as the main attraction for many of the audience members.

Packed into the small studio bar at Komedia, this was a very intimate, personal gig, and a unique opportunity for many fans to get so close.

There were a few jokey warnings about people crowding the stage and the lights being too bright and hot, which gave the impression that the band were finding the intense attention a little overwhelming.

Penner’s voice remained as hauntingly beautiful as ever, sweetly soaring over lovelorn lyrics.

The performance was playful, innocent, yet conscious – the sound sometimes borrowed from Dntel, Modest Mouse, old Unicorns material and the soundtracks that Cera has worked over the years. Occasionally swooping into cosmic keyboards or grinding rhythms, it was unpredictable and varied.

There was a sense of mutual respect and reverence between the musicians and the show felt serious and considered, but it did feel a bit like they were taking it in turns with the songs.

As a band, the musicians on stage were convincing, but their collective sound wasn’t so much.

Four stars