I had a choice tonight to either see Clipse or Camera Obscura , two bands who had stellar releases in 2006, with lots of buzz surrounding them. I fully expected Clipse to sell out, but the days went by and it didn’t. Camera Obscura, however, did. And of course, being the contrary girl that I am, I suddenly really wanted to go. I managed to seek out an extra ticket and made my way to Williamsburg’s Warsaw, clad in jeans and my sweater with the strawberries on, at one with all the hipsters who were ready to be swathed in happy, twee pop sunshine.

Warsaw’s an interesting venue, if you’ve never been. It’s decorated for a prom moreso than a concert, with sparkly pink lights strung along the walls, and there’s no coat check but there is a stand in the side room where you can purchase pierogi and other Polish treats. My friends and I found a pretty good spot in the center of the room, and I stood with my Corona and bulky coat and scarf in my arms. This became somewhat of a problem later on, when the sold out crowd filtered in for the headliner and all extra breathing space was lost.

The opening band was Essex Green , a fun band from Brooklyn whom the crowd seemed to genuinely like, if not adore. I was under the impression that they were a trio from the photos on their myspace, but they had five members; perhaps two were touring members. Sasha Bell and Christopher Zitel traded off vocals while Jeff Baron played the band attention whore, sidling up to each member repeatedly and getting very close. No one seemed to mind, possibly because of his charmingly young bowl haircut that made him look a bit like a junior high student. But a dreamy one, lest you think I’m mocking the haircut. Sasha’s voice was a little high but pretty smooth, not screechy– though I constantly thought she was on the verge of going to a bad place. My favorite number was “Snakes in the Grass,” which I can swear I’ve heard in a TV commercial before. (If I’m correct about this, someone please enlighten me.) The only problem with the set? Too long. About an hour flat, three or four songs longer than we expected it to be. About four from the end, they played a very peppy song that would have been a perfect closer. But then it kept going. We couldn’t complain too much, since they were very good, but everyone seemed pretty anxious for Camera Obscura.

Camera Obscura are quite lovely in person, but they don’t have much pizazz as a live band. I’m not sure what I was expecting. Glitter? More lights and shimmer? The music certainly calls for that sort of thing. Their set was fairly low-key, to the extent that the slower, moodier songs seemed to leave some folks yawning where they stood. The highlight was definitely the brilliant “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken,” followed by “If Looks Could Kill,” the band’s bouncy new single. Everyone cheered when “Lloyd” began, more than ready to be swept off their feet by the most charming track off Let’s Get Out of This Country. There was definitely some swaying during dreamy “Tears for Affairs” and “Dory Previn.” And Tracyanne Campbell was a charming lead, her voice as pleasurable live as it is on record, evocative of country walks, picnic lunches, and midday trips to the secluded end of the beach.

Overall, the crowd didn’t seem disappointed, even if this wasn’t the most exciting live show happening in New York at the moment. It was a nice chance to see Camera Obscura in a semi-intimate setting before their star rises to Belle & Sebastian heights (if you count B&S as the apex of twee success, that is; another topic of discussion). We spent the encore at the bar, listening and watching Tracyanne on a television. It didn’t take away much from the experience, honestly. Some folks were even dancing.