It’s not terribly clear that Deerhunter‘s decision to play D.C. on election night was a good one. Oh sure, once the show ended, the Atlanta quintet (of very vocal Obama supporters) had the opportunity to partake in the historic celebrations invading U Street just like the rest of the city. But unlike their visit to the Black Cat Backstage last year, the audience had ample breathing room and filled up maybe a third of the Mainstage floor. It seems the band did themselves a disservice by scheduling a show on a night many of the people drooling over last month’s Kranky release, Microcastle, had more pressing things on their mind.

Then again, this is not the same band who toured off of 2007’s intricately unsettling Cryptograms and depressingly beautiful Fluorescent Grey, and not just because they’ve picked up a new guitarist (Whitney Petty). Marfan-afflicted frontman Bradford Cox seems to have matured and relaxed, no longer trying to explain his quirky personality to his listening audience and consequently sticking his foot in his mouth at every turn as the white light of a hundred thousand computers shone on his missteps. He’s now very candid and tongue-in-cheek about his quirks, dropping his voice into a baritone after an utter failure of a joke about CNN and the Fox News Network to say, “Sorry, I’m not very funny. But I mean well.” Cox is, in fact, extremely personable. He manned the merch table, engaging each person in the long, slow moving line in a five minute conversation. It’s as if Cox is a beacon to anyone who has ever been an outcast, taking his audience in as friends, and giving them pretty and soothing music.

Unfortunately, the band has not quite figured out how to translate this new woozy material into an engaging live show. The rhythm section of bassist Josh Fauver and drummer Moses Archuleta have impressive chops and seem to be enjoying themselves. But guitarist Lockett Pundt plays with all of the energy of a disaffected teen (or a member of the Strokes). While the more outright rocking moments of “Nothing Ever Happened” and “Cryptograms” and the pretty hooks in “Never Stops” made for hypnotic moments, the jams into outright noise usually lasted too long, a characteristic shared with their exhaustingly boring first opener, Knyfe Hyts.