Photo by Valerie Paschall

Grass Widow’s star has been rising steadily over the past year due to presence on high profile tours and in media outlets. As such, they projected the confidence of seasoned veterans during their Tuesday show at Comet Ping Pong.

In fact, their complex rhythms and ethereal voices sounded so airtight that any slight changes to the volume or intensity of their songs induced cheers from the intent crowd. The band picked up on this rapt attention, even doing something of an accidental encore as the crowd cheered wildly during what was clearly intended to be an equipment breakdown.

They picked up on other audience movements, too. Take our advice: don’t text during a Grass Widow show. They will see you, they will call you out and they will do so in such a deadpan and understated way that you’ll actually feel remorseful.

Bassist Hannah Lew had already given a few half-playful/half-awkward jabs the photographers in the front row, joking that this wasn’t a rock show—it was a photo shoot. They then went into standout track “Milo Minute” from recent release Internal Logic, and amid the psychedelic guitar riffs that have colored many lo-fi San Francisco releases of late, all was forgotten. At least all was forgotten until about after “Lulu’s Lips,” when Lew sarcastically intoned that she loved it when people tweeted or texted during their shows—because in the light of the phone, she could see their faces. Then, pointing to an audience member (who it turns out was Positive Force show organizer Pat Walsh), she said, “Like you, sir. I can see you perfectly.”

His effusive apology (and explanation of fighting fire with fire—texting a person to tell them to get off their phone) was clearly more than the ladies expected as their curt responses signaled an eagerness to forget the moment and restart the show. Apparently, the crowd felt the same way as someone actually fell into the stage while dancing to the following song. Both responses spoke to Grass Widow’s powerful hold over a crowd.